Boatloads of Booties

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Cheryl

Some things that have kept me from my UFOs:

Shameless Baby Bootie

Baby Booties. I was commissioned to make some for Shameless that will air in February or March. Joan Cusack will be knitting them so I made one complete and one partial with needles still in it. I hope the DPNs don't fall out! I hope they can figure it out...

I used the Seamless Baby Platform Shoes pattern. The photo just cracked me up so I had to go with them. I knit them while door monitoring at VK Live.

Can You Say Clown Feet?

I made this pair back in April that were supposed to be "pink booties -- comically misshapen." I wasn't sure, but the prop master liked them. Unfortunately they must have ended up on the cutting room floor because they were supposed to be in the final episode of Breaking In, but that scene never appeared. It was a cute show. I hope it comes back.

More booties for friends, one in blue and this one in pink. I'm using Ruth's "Perfect" Baby Booties pattern. I knit blue ones straight from the pattern and I discovered that what would make this pattern even more perfect for me was to knit in the round. The pink ones are modified to do just that. Look, ma! No seams! Whooo Hooo!

Girl Booties

Ruffled and Ruched Scarf

I knit this lovely neck warmer for Unwind. It only took a couple of days.

Be Sweet Scarf/Wrap/Poncho?

I remembered another UFO in my queue. It's this poncho in Be Sweet Extra Fine. The colors are fuchsia and aubergine. I don't know why I started this. I don't even wear ponchos. I don't really like ponchos. I got caught up in the moment I guess. Lisa at Unwind had just finished this and put it on me to see where to put the ribbon to join it. And it was cute. And the colors are totally my colors. I'm not sure I'll wear it as a poncho though. It will make an extra big scarf or wrap.

Another project I got caught up in was Mina. Yes, this is a KAL from Heather Ordover's book, WWMDFK. We're currently listening to Dracula, and this lovely shawl is the Wilhelmina Shawlette by Chrissy Gardiner.

My Mina

I knit this in a lovely dark red Shilasdair and ran short about 6 rows. I ordered more, but you know my track record by now.

The new skein is quite a bit lighter than the old. I'm not sure how I should handle this. I could reknit the whole thing using one skein per row, but that may turn out a bit stripey. Or I could go back a couple of rows and pretend like I meant to do that for the edging. Oh, I don't know. It will probably sit for a while. What do you think I should do? Leave a comment below.

I really need to get back to the Houndstooth Scarf in Koigu. I did a swatch, but I think I might loosen it up a bit. The problem with all this knitting is that I've been staying up very late at night. "One more row, I've got to finish this repeat..." You know what I mean.

That's How I Roll

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Cheryl

I know it's not Friday. I missed by a few days, but I was at the NAMM show all weekend and there was no wireless in my hotel room! Can you believe it? I think Holiday Inn Express needs to get up to speed.... Not that I had much time anyway.... We saw lots of cool musical toys and interesting people. I think some thought it was Comic-Con. My husband was there with his company, NewTek, Inc. producing the live webcast each night. If you are interested in webcasting videos, say a video podcast, they have the equipment you need.

Looks pretty in the picture.

(Mini Me)

I had a very busy knitting week. On Sunday, I took a yarn dyeing class with Shannon Okey at Unwind. I had never dyed yarn before. I'm not sure I'm crazy about my results, but it was a great learning experience. I'll have to see how it knits up. I think I'll call 'em, "Crazy Socks." I like how my sample skein came out much better. I must have left more space between the colors on the test skein than on the big skein so I had a lot more blending of colors. I even have some blue between the purple and green and I didn't use blue at all! Very interesting!

On Wednesday Sarah Hatton from Rowan taught a class on how to update your favorite sweater. She taught how to take your measurements and figure out the stitch count. Then we worked on figuring the decreasing for sleeves and necklines. She was great, very knowledgeable. Of course I had to get the pattern book and get it autographed! I wish I could visit Rowan when I go to London. They are in the countryside, about 2 hours away.

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I worked like mad to get the Baby Shawl done by Wednesday so I could turn it in. I blocked it that morning and even put the blocking boards in my car's trunk to finish drying while I took my mom to the doctor.

I knew I might not make it back in time to go home and I was right. I was a 1/2 hour late for my class so I was a little surly by the time I got there. I really felt like all my brain power was drained by the traffic between Santa Monica and Burbank. Uggghh. Still, it was a good class. I just wish I had been there from the beginning and had brought a simpler sweater to figure out. I tried to figure this one that I got for Christmas.

I think it's really pretty. But she said I would have to take lots of measurements for it. My head just about exploded in trying to figure it out! I think I'll stick to figuring out DH's favorite sweater which is a drop shoulder sweater with straight sides. I brought that too, and no one could figure out the stitch pattern. It must be some crazy machine knit thing. I suspect it is double knit because there is rib on the back side and brioche on the front. At least from what I can tell.

At the end of Sunday's class Stephanie and Shannon were talking about Stitches West. Stephanie said she doesn't have any socks for her display. Of course my eyes lit up. I haven't done any socks in I don't know how long. I've been itching to get started on a pair. Shannon just happens to be working on a new book and I get to make one of the socks from it! Yippee! I'm using Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in a lovely gold color called Ginger. I love the depth in the color, and it really shows off in the pattern that Shannon designed. Since the book won't be out until March, I'll save the details until later. My socks should be done sooner than that though.

Two Socks, Two Needles. That's... how I roll!

Happy Knitting and I'll see you Friday! Knitter Ditter New Info: I just found this pattern on Ravelry so I can talk. It is called Gördes and is published in "Silk Road Socks" by Hunter Hammersen, published by cooperativepress.com. That's all for now.

Boy-O-Boy

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Cheryl

My latest knitting project is a little sweater for my friend's new baby. Its from the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book. I started it last Sunday. It's due tomorrow (Sunday) for her shower. Ahem. The directions should clearly have stated, "NEXT ROW: K3 (On the front button band, you idiot!) and place these 3 stitches on holder." I in all my wisdom placed the stitches on the SEAM side of the front on a holder and thought," Gee, that's funny, oh well." Now when I come to the 3 needle bind off on the shoulder seam, my pattern isn't lining up. I go to Ravelry to look for info or eratta on the pattern and guess what? The picture there clearly shows that I should have put the center front stitches on the holder so that I could knit the neckband onto them. IDIOT! Also we are suddenly going out tonight, so I need to finish this afternoon. I'm glad it's not a full sized manly sweater. 11/21 - Finished!

Li'l Pumpkin Baby Hat

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Cheryl

SOLD!

I got my first sale ever over at http://www.etsy.com/shop/KnitterDitter. It's so exciting! Thank you, jessicabmagee!

The idea for this hat came to me a couple of weeks ago. Since fall is on the way, it seemed appropriate. And what's cuter than a baby pumpkin? Maybe more veggie hats. I've got some ideas rolling around in my head. One of my hats was also featured here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c78353172998eefd48252c9/pounced-announced-bounced-flounced I'm not sure if that's where the sale came from, but I'm ever so grateful!

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Cheryl

I just finished Josie's baby blanket.

I bound off using a size 7 needle and the 6th bind off on this page: http://weebleknits.blogspot.com/2003/05/stretchy-bind-offs.html

I want to keep this handy because I keep referring back to it. I hope someday I'll remember how to do this automatically. The easiest thing is to just use larger needles.

My daughter didn't want traditional pink or yellow. She chose purple for her new little girl. This yarn has a pearly white strand running through it that adds a bit of "glitz." I think she'll like it.

I finally got the invitations to the shower mailed.

I had forgotten that Monday was a postman's holiday. Hopefully everyone will forgive me that I asked them to RSVP so quickly. It's ok, in all we have invited about 60 guests. If the laws of invites hold true, 75% of them will come and that leaves us with about 45. Now to figure out the food. Do I make it myself or buy pre-made? I'm being a little Martha Stewart-y about all this. I have to count tables and chairs and tea cups. I'll probably end up buying paper ones. I wish they were shaped like tea cups rather than coffee cups. Other than that I hope it doesn't rain. It would be nice to do this in the backyard. Martha would have a conniption about my back yard though. Maybe she would get up early in the morning to plant petunias!

Update on the Knitting

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Cheryl

On the needles right now are Herringbone Rib Socks from IK last issue (Winter I think.) It all started with a plane ride to San Antonio. Here I am casting on and watching a podcast of LetsKnit2gether.

As I was working these I noticed that the color was pooling into diagonal stripes. The cool thing was that I seemed to have cast on in a slightly different spot for each toe and now the stripes look like they are moving from one sock to the other:

After working the heel this didn't happen anymore. To continue the coolness I decided to make the heel out of a complimentary color and WALA!

We're back in business! Dang! I just realized that I probably didn't need to go out and buy another skein. I have virtually the same brown in a different yarn. It's just as well though. The socks I made out of that yarn have since felted. The yarn for these socks is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the colorway Roadside Gerry. I didn't even think of going back to the stash for the heels because I originally wanted a color to match the orange. They didn't have that but they did have the lovely brown in Shepherd Sock, so at least the fabric is consistent. Josie's Blanket

Underneath the socks is a baby blanket I'm working on for my future granddaughter. She's due on April 4. I've got to get crackin' on the invitations for DD's shower. Check them out at: Daisie company's Greeting Cards. The cutting is a B-word since I sprained my wrist on our snowboarding trip last week. But I think the card is so cute!

Here's the blanket so far:

I've done this one before in blue. I liked the yarn much better for that one. This one's Bernat Baby Coordinates. I should have used bamboo needles for it because my Knit Picks keep catching on the fiber and snagging it. I'm stubborn though, so I haven't changed yet. Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday was my birthday. Before I whine I should say that I'm too old to whine about a birthday. It was no one's fault, but I can't help but feel, um, whiny. There. Hey, it's my birthday and I can whine if I want to! DH put his back out last weekend and had an impossible deadline for work, so we didn't get to go out like he said we would. I had to take my mom to the doctor and it was pouring down rain. At the parking kiosk, the window wouldn't return to it's full upright and locked position, so I had about an inch open with rain coming in. Thank God it didn't stick all the way down. My attitude was so bad He could have made it do that. When we got back to her place I was able to pull it up manually. DD called to wish me a happy birthday and asked what we were doing for it. Um, nothing. Well, we got Chinese food and that was ok with me. I had actually decided I'd rather do that before DH suggested that it was too late to go out. The killer for me was when this comedian, Andrew Dice Clay came on TV. I don't like him. Now I remember why. DH snickered at some of the jokes and I asked him to turn it off. He went back to work and I went to bed. The end. My mom wanted to buy me a card right there in the store with me standing there since she hadn't had a chance to earlier. (I'm her means of transportation.) I wouldn't let her. Too embarrasing. MIL just called to wish me a happy belated birthday. She said she didn't get a chance to go out and get a card yesterday because it was pouring down rain. I said, "I know." DS 1 & 2 didn't call. Probably overlooked it. Can I get a WHAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?!?!?!? or maybe just some WINE!

What Brought Me Back

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Cheryl

This is the project that started it all. It was approximately 4 years ago. The woman who lead our bible study wanted to have it at her mom's yarn shop one night. I was immediately taken in by the small store in Pasadena, CA. I wish this store had a website. The name is Elegance Designer Yarns on Green St. You can Google it for the address. It was so artfully arranged. There was a comfy couch in the bay window, antique hutches and side boards with yarn spilling off the shelves in a riot of colors. I think I was taken back to when I first started knitting at about 8 or 9. I didn't stick with it then. The sticks were awkward and I couldn't keep my tension straight. If only I'd learned continental first. I think I only tried to knit a scarf at first and I quickly became bored. Besides, the yarn was something on the order of a Red Heart yarn. (Not that there's anything wrong with that... Seinfeld) Just not very comfortable to work with. At any rate, I heard that there was a workshop the next Saturday, so I signed up for it. Barry Klein from Trendsetter was teaching a pattern for an afghan. I think it is called Anniversary Plaid. It ended up not being a knitting project, but a crocheted one. That was fine with me because at that time I was more comfortable with crochet. Since my SIL was pregnant, I decided this would be the perfect project. It took a while, and after I had a few color changes I decided that I didn't like my choice of yarn. I hopped on down to my favorite LYS, Unwind, and there bought the yummy yarn for the blanket.

Tomorrow Never Comes…

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Cheryl

Boy, I must have been tired. Seems like I had a Rip Van Winkle moment. I never posted the picture of the baby pants,

aren't they cute?!?

I never came back and told you about my Oriel Lace Blouse.

Damnit, Jim, I'm a knitter not a blogger!

Just kidding. I apologize. Can't say I won't do it again. I am a SHE and time just seems to get away from me. Even now I should be working, but here I am trying to catch up with my blog because it has been weighing heavily on my mind since I discovered that I just wasted a whole bunch of time on the sleeves of my blouse. I was thinking this morning as I finished up the last two rows that I might just get this done in time to wear when I go to Texas next time, the home of this beautiful silk yarn. We'll see if that actually happens now.

I read the instructions wrong. They say"Work center 61 sts according to Oriel chart, working the next 54 rows..." There is no period there after 54 rows. AAAAHHHHHHHH! I worked to 54 rows and guess what the rest of the sentence says? "...changing needle sized as foll: 16 rows with size 7, 16 rows with size 6, 14 rows with size 5, and 8 rows with size 3, ending with chart Row 26. A frogging I will go... 38 rows worth x 2!!!! (I'm working both sleeves at one time in the round. A thrill seeker, I know.)

This really sucks, but I love knitting so much I don't really mind. My DH thinks I'm nuts. I was so mad that I wanted to fix it right then, but alas, I have to get some actual work done. What really makes me mad is that I started with the sleeves and decided I didn't like they way they were coming out, but it gave me a chance to get used to the yarn and get a swatch going. The sleeves are the hardest part of this project and I think I might rewrite the instructions or put a big flag on them saying "beware" if I ever try this again. All in all it is coming along beautifully. I can't wait to get it done. But in the meantime I have to finish a Christmas present and make some scarves for my church's outreach.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Cheryl

It's about time I got back to my blog. I've been remiss about posting, but I have been knitting. More about that in due time... Last week my sweetie and I took a trip to Northern New York via the Finger Lakes

and Niagara Falls. We did some wine tasting in the Finger Lakes wine country. (Didn't know they had a wine country in New York.) I have to say we are spoiled Californians. We didn't like the reds they offered at all. They all seemed a little thin to our taste, some were even medicinal. We like the bold and fruity wines, specifically Old Vine Zinfandel. No Zin in New York. The white wines were very nice, in fact we brought home some Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. So back to the knitting. (Isn't that the point?!?) Of course I needed an airplane project. Conveniently enough my friend was having a baby shower a couple of days after I was coming home, so I thought, aha! A baby project! A quick look at my email and behold! My favorite LYS owner, Stephanie, had created a pattern for baby booties called "Angel Feet." They are made with Lorna's Laces "Angel." I rushed down to the store and picked up the pattern and some yummy Angel yarn in the Camouflage color. I couldn't leave well enough alone though. The booties would knit up quick and I felt like I needed more of a gift than that. I found the last skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the color Envy. I bought it not knowing exactly what I would make with it. It's only 200 yards, so I couldn't exactly make a sweater even for baby. Maybe a vest or hat. Possibly a bib or wash cloth. I did a quick web search and up came the cutest baby cargo pants you ever saw on Bella Knitting. They only take 200 yards, so I printed up the pattern and packed it in my knitting bag. I'll bet you're wondering why I chose Camoflauge and Envy. You're not? Well I'll tell you anyway. The theme for the baby shower was Safari. There, you see? I think it worked. Her colors were green, brown & blue. I don't remember choosing colors for my baby shower when I had kids... Oh yeah, we didn't have a nursery. But I digress. LA to Cincinnati

As we waited to board the plane at LAX, I quickly cast on and for the booties. Sooo soft. This is the cuff.

and this is the first bootie...

By the time we landed in Cincinnati, I had two. So cute!

I need more practice with the picture taking. Forgive the bad lighting.

Syracuse to Niagara Falls via the Finger Lakes

The first night we spent at the Waterloo Holiday Inn near Seneca Falls. By the time we got there I had cast on the baby pants. Since it was dark I gave it a rest until morning.

The next day we got into our little PT Cruiser rental and cruised near Cayuga Lake. We had lunch at Knapp Winery. We immediately noticed how quiet it was. We are used to the roar of the city. You don't notice so much until you go to a very quiet place. Then your ears ring with the quiet and your body just relaxes and says, "aaahhhh."

We stopped at Goose Watch Winery, Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery and Hosmer Winery. Cayuga Ridge was in this old barn, and the young guy serving was playing Pink Floyd Meddle when we walked in. They had these great wine carrier purses. I wish I got one. They were round, just the size of a wine bottle and covered in fabric. I've never seen them before, but they could hold knitting needles when you're not using them for wine.

Ha! I found a picture here http://www.initialpresents.com/silkwinecarrier.html. Same price too. I might just have to order one.

Niagara Falls

This is the scene from our window at the Embassy Suites Niagara Falls. You can't see this view from the American side so we spent the night in Canada. The baby pants are coming along. I couldn't get enough pictures of the falls, so here's another:

I've actually got some outdoor shots, but they're on the other camera which is currently in Amsterdam with DH. He flew directly from our vacation there for business.

We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls. It's pouring down so hard that you can't even open your eyes. Needless to say, I got soaked in spite of the plastic poncho.

From Niagara we had the Very. Long. Drive. in Friday evening traffic to Alexandria Bay in Northern New York. Did I mind? Not one Knit!

This is the whole point of the trip, the Alex Bay Blues Festival. Our friend who is also in DH's band was the MC. He comes from Watertown, NY. He spent summers in Alexandria Bay and the 1000 Islands. It's such a small town. Everyone knows everyone else. The locals wondered why we would come from California to Alex Bay. The weather of course! Apparently it got to about 113 over Labor Day in the SF Valley! Egads! We were very comfortable in 76 - 78 degree beautiful weather.

We had a great time at the Blues Festival. Music is everywhere in the small village. There is a main stage by the dock, and bands that aren't currently playing there are at one of the bars or restaurants. Kal David & the Real Deal featuring Lauri Bono were the headliner on Sunday. We were lucky enough to have dinner with them and our friend, Steve. What nice people.

On Monday the owner of Cavallario's Steakhouse got us a ride in his cousin's boat. We cruised around some of the 1000 Islands. We've got some great pictures on the other camera...

By the way, Cavallario's has the most delicious food if you're in the area.

My reading for the trip was Debbie Macomber's Between Friends.

This is getting really long and I'm tired, so I'll save the rest for tomorrow.

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