The Elegant Spider

I've been knitting up a storm these last few months. Since I reconnected with my knitting group, I've had a constant stream of inspiration. And ravelry has been a huge boon!

My latest WIP is this Gooseberry Hat in Elsebeth Lavold's Hempathy, which is a cotton hemp and modal blend. Apparently it washes up softer than its hempy feel.

BANG!

Love this:

Where will it strike?

BAM!

I have finally been inspired by the Yarn Bombing book to contribute my own piece of guerilla knitting.
I placed my piece on a fence post near the former Peter Robinson College of Trent University, so it should get plenty of notice.
Here is the pole beforehand, in all of its plain and boring glory:
And here it is after I sewed up my ribbed tube of frilliness: I'm quite happy with it and I think I'll take a quick drive by today to see it again. If its sunny enough I'll take another picture in the daylight.

Quick Post

Just a quick note to post a current photo of my slowly advancing lace shawl. I started it some time ago and I intend to be done to give to my mom for Christmas. I really should call it my "Realistic Shawl"...

Bad, bad blogger!

I have been sorely neglecting my duties as a blogger and now I'm going to post the world's shortest blog.

This is what I've been working on...

There are many others, but they've already been given as gifts, or as raffle prizes for my school's hairdresser department.

How Could I Resist?

He is the perfect inspiration and the perfect model.

I present to you....Harper Heath Williams Labelle is his new spring cotton ensemble.
The sweater is the Seamless Kimono Sweater from the Complete Fabrication.

The Circus Knit Bits is an original work, and you can get the pattern here. It is a great pattern that can be done in the round or on straight needles and is actually written for three colours. Its difficult to see the knotted i-cord at the top, but that is the cutest part of the hat!
My next project is to start the Christmas gifts. I'd really like to make something for everyone and the first on the list is my mom. I want to do a shawl, preferably from Victorian Lace Today. I complicated and challenging design is what my brain really needs right now. And if I get that done before Christmas, I'll have accomplished something!

Seamless Kimono Sweater

I have wanted to do a sweater like this for some time and finally found exactly the pattern that I wanted in the Seamless Kimono Sweater at the Complete Fabrication. You can check out my Ravelry page to see my progress, but here are some pictures so far...
I am almost done the first sleeve, and as much as I hate using DPNs I am finding this a little better than my sock endeavour. I'm pulling tight on the first and last stitch of each needle to erase the ladders and that's helping. I am the most excited because when I'm done I won't have to sew anything up! Ah, the seamlessness!I wanted to have a roomier sweater and one that had a bit of a tunic feel, so I made a 2stitch increase at each side, every 9 rows. Then, when I got to the hem part, I divided the sweater onto 2 separate circular needles, knitting the front and back separately, so that there was a side slit...making it more tunic-like.The hem is a little different than the original pattern...I knit & purled so that the purl stitches showed on the outside for 2 stitches on the first row, 4 for the next 4 rows, then all the way across for 4 rows, then a knit row, then cast off.Can't wait to be finished!

So neglectful...

I've been too busy at home to update anything here in soooo long. I finally had a free minute at work, and despite the urge to post to A Free Minute I am posting her instead.

I finally finished the toddler dress and it turned out great.

In a strange twist of fate (pun intended), as I had put the piece away for so long, I was doing the yarnovers differently on the second half of the back fan & feather portion.

To that end (pun intended again) the bum portion is denser than the front. Its still looks nice and I can pretend that it was intentional . The best part was finishing it with the mattress stitch, which is completely invisible.

I am planning on giving it to my lovely niece, Rachel; her fifth birthday is in June and she will look wonderful in it!

Now, I'm using up the rest of the silk/wool yarn to knit the drop stitch scarf Fascinate from Berroco. When I'm done, I'll post another picture. I'm still trying to decide to whom I will give it. There is a lovely teacher on staff at my school who is due to give birth anyday. She is already a mom to several kids and I think instead of a 'baby' focused gift, I'll give her the scarf. She has a gorgeous head of bright red hair and this will look great on her...I just have to get it finished.

Knitty Gritties

Long, long ago, in a house very near to mine...okay, my house, a woman lived who attended her knitting group regularly. Every other Monday night she would pack up her most recent project and head out to Lakefield, usually with Annie in tow, and she would knit and chat and laugh and she would feel content.

Then she got pregnant, and she continued to go to the Knitty Gritties. Then she had a baby and she went a few more times with a sleeping baby. But then one night, that baby got too big for his carrier and he started to crawl and get into things and she couldn't find the energy come Monday night to drag her arse to her favourite place.

Weeks turned to months and then one day, she check out her Facebook and lo, and behold, both Annie & Jenn both were asking her to come to knitting. Well, she couldn't very well turn down that chance! She missed them. She missed the knitting and chatting and laughing. Of course, she would go. And so I did!

On the drive out I explained to Annie my current hatred towards the socks that I was sllllloooooowwwwllllyyy knitting. She reminded me that I really didn't have to finish them. And unlike a book that you are not enjoying, you don't have to just put the knitting away. So I spent most of my evening frogging the afforementioned sock...

Then I sat staring at it for some time. Meanwhile, Annie had not brought any knitting per se. Her first project was to finish the Snoodle (sp?) that she had started to make for Lulu. It is basically a square of flannel, folded in half, with a ball of stuffing in the middle for a head. Then you knot each of the corners, to make hands and feet.

Its adorable and simple and so soft!

Her next project was some needle felting. She's starting out making a mobile (again for Lulu) with little felted balls of swirling colours. The roving yarn is gorgeous and soft and looks absolutely delicious...like beautiful, multicoloured cotton candy.And when she started to needle felt, it looked like the kind of zen work that I live for. There's not watching TV while you do it, because you can easily prick a finger with the barbed needle. But its a simple poking process and when she got going, it was a almost like watching a manual tattoo artist, her hand was moving so fast.Meanwhile, everyone else was working on various parts of various projects. Jenn was adding fringe to the ends of her new scarf; she's adding her Guide's badges later, which is priceless! There was also much sharing of baby photos; Annie hasn't been to knitting in some time either. She brought a gorgeous calendar with photos of Lulu's first year. I had my camera with some pics from today, and I also had my digital keychain with pics of everyone, and loads of Harper.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic night and I'll be sure to start going regularly again. It fills up my cup and then I'll at least have some fortnightly blog fodder!

Okay, so why does everyone love socks so much?

I've heard so much about socks. First of all, a lot of women I know are cold...my mother, my mother-in-law, my best friend (whose been known to go for a walk in a parka in July, I shit you not). They all complain about being cold all the time. They bring slippers to my house. Granted, I have hardwood floors, but seriously! Its not that cold in my house!
Anyway, in my knitting group (which I've been neglecting terribly the last year) everyone loves socks. They go on and on about knitting socks, almost like its a religious experience. Now, I thought before Christmas, okay, maybe in August, that I would knit up a few pairs of socks for Christmas gifts, for the aforementioned cold nellies. I figured I'd be conservative and start with a couple balls of Patons Kroy Socks in Denim Jacquard. They were to be for my mother-in-law, just because she's the most difficult to buy for of the three.
I cast on and the first problem I had was in the joining, but I got out my copy of Domiknitrix and, of course, found some great instruction. So, the pattern was easy enough (it was the one on the Patons website), but my passion for it waned immediately. I've kept at it, but certainly was not finished 3 pairs in time for Christmas. Actually, I wasn't finished one pair in time for Christmas. Okay, OKAY!! I wasn't finished a single sock in time for Christmas. In fact, even though I still have worked on it little by little all along, this is where I am today...Just barely passed the halfway point. Anyway, the other problem I had was with the spaces that were appearing between the needles. These ladders are ugly and everywhere I look, the advice is just to keep practicing, that they'll disappear with practice. Well, for Christ's sake, I don't want to practice doing socks, just so that I can get rid of unsightly ladders. I DON'T LIKE KNITTING SOCKS! So, when I do finish them, whoever is the lucky recipient better appreciate them, because they are going to be rare. Much like my experience making pumpkin pie from scratch...it just wasn't worth the immense amount of effort. I can get really cool, well-made socks in many stores, at a great price. So, why would I continue to waste my time knitting these ladderfilled monstrocities!?

And here's the ladders...

My Christmas Present to Myself

My husband listened to my complaints this year and bought me a new winter jacket. And he did a fantastic job...I wasn't with him to try it on and I didn't give him any clues as to what I'd like. But he bought the perfect jacket. Its a thigh-length, brown and black tweed, with a detachable hood and zippered pockets. Its simple and classic and bookish looking...just like me!But I needed a new scarf to go with it. I wanted to do something a little different. Within the fabric of the jacket are fine threads of green and teal. They are so faint that you can't even really see them unless you get up good and close, and I point them out to you. I wanted to draw attention to them. So, I chose Lionbrand Wool in Lemongrass and Dark Teal; 1 ball of each. Then I decided that I wanted the actual scarf to be original, but classic. This sounds simple enough, but I wasn't. What I ended up with was a scarf that wasn't striped, or braided, or tassled, or weaved.

So, this is the pattern that I came up with...

Cast on 26sts, on 8mm needles.

Continue in 2X2 rib until you're nearly out of the first colour. Knit next row with the other colour and continue in 2X2 rib until second half is the same length as the first. Bind off.

I know, I know. Its incredibly complicated. But if you keep a stitch marker and stitch counter and don't watch TV while you work, you should be okay. My other piece of advice on this complex scarf, is to try not to smoke TOO much pot while you knit...I found that the needles looked REALLY REALLY BIG and it freaked me out a little.

Here is my finished scarf, which looks great with my jacket, by the way.

Another Old Project...

The story behind this is simple. I bought some yarn on eBay and didn't know what to do with it. It was a nice cotton/poly ribbon yarn, in a great creamy peachy colour. There was enough for a small garment, but I'm not a small girl! So, I thought a poncho would be nice.



It was at the height of the poncho comeback and although I was up for making one for myself I knew it had to be a simple design. I also hadn't started to knit, so it had to be a crochet design.



The pattern was the simple Incredible Ribbon Poncho at Lionbrand. Its a basic rectangle, then you sew up one side part way, leaving a hole for your head, so it fits asymmetrically.



I still wear the poncho now; its a great weight for spring when the weather has started to get good and warm. And the colour is nice on my olive skin tone.

Catching Up

Well, I got a digital camera for my birthday. Ah, I know...only now do you have a digital camera, you say? Shit, that is simply the plight of any middle-class parent. My daughter has had a digital camera for over a year, and actually had the audacity to ask for a new one when she thought it was broken!

Anyway, I've taken some pics of some past knitting and want to catch up the blog with them.

So, let's start with the least recent.

My brother-in-law managed to get his hands on some vintage knitting books (back when I was only doing crochet). This was one of them...

I was so enamoured with this pattern...

that I couldn't help but teach myself to knit. I really only wanted to make the pants (the jacket just seemed too daunting at the time). This was also before I was even pregnant with my little man. And considering the fact that I had no interest in doing the 'gender' ultrasound, I think it was fortuitous that I made these in Bernat's Baby Coordinates in Sky. They turned out perfectly, although they failed to inspire me to finish the rest of the outfit.

A close-up shows the soft boucle of the yarn; its kinky and entwined with a sparkling white thread. It's great to work with; so soft, silky and warm.

The pants are great and are just fitting him now (at 12mos), so he'll be able to wear out the rest of this winter in them.

I'll be posting some other pieces in the next few days, so stay tuned!

My next project

Okay, so even though I have a few UFOs (a monkey bag, a shawl, a toddler dress, to name a few, socks), I finished my scarf (pic to come) and feel justified in starting something new. I got my Knit Bits newsletter from Berroco and in their new booklet #285 there is a pattern for an apron/garment called Paron.

I love the look of it and want to make it, but I'm such a cheap skate and don't want the rest of the booklet. So, design one I will. I sat last night sketching out the pattern and measuring myself. I'll be using Bernat Baby Coordinates (R & the kids bought some for my birthday last year), in sky, soft blue & white. I knit up a swatch and calculated the decreases, and God, math is not my strong point, but I got it. And it is just for me, so if it doesn't work out perfectly no biggy.

I'll try to post this one as I go.

And now 2 more!

This just keeps getting better. Except that now I feel such pressure to post. I need to get a hold of the camera in our house and take some photos of my current projects. My UFOs could warrant a blog of their own!

Welcome Jain & Shannon!

Also, feel free to check out my other blogs too, Haiku Mama & A Free Minute.

WOW!

I signed into blogger this morning only to discover that I have 2 followers to the Funky Hooker! I feel like a super star...okay, okay, I know its not much to some of the huge blogs out there, but its a big deal to me. And that is definately going to make all the difference in how frequently I post my knitting and new patterns.

Right now, I'm working on a few different projects at once. The most important (and most recent) is a plain 2x2 rib narrow scarf in LionBrand wool, that I'm making to match my new coat. I'll post pics later.

I'm also working on a mohair shawl (that a couple years UFO), a 12mos lacy dress, a monkey bag for a friend, and a pair of self-striping blue socks (my first attempt at socks). I usually have a few things knitting at any given time. Crocheting is on the back burner, but I can guarantee that any crochet projects are finished too fast to put away for a time.

So, thanks a million, Fae & CMC Avon...you made my day!

Harper Leg Warmers

With the goal of practicing elimination communication with my new baby boy, I was struggling daily with pants, domes, socks, diaper covers, and diaper domes. I needed to reduce the number of layers between us without compromising his warmth. Any leg warmers I found in stores were simply too girly for my little man. So I decided to create my own simple pair of neutral leg warmers.

You can find the pattern here.

 

Rock the Casbah Baby Leg Warmers

Well, its been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog; I just haven't been inventing new patterns, although I've been crocheting and knitting up a storm. My baby is overdue now and I'm getting so excited and anxious and impatient. But, mostly I'm kind of excited to start using Elimination Communication. And because my little Harper is due in the middle of winter, I thought that using baby leg warmers would make a whole lot of sense. The nicest ones I've found were Baby Legs, but I'm not in a position to pay upwards of $20 for a pair of leg warmers...especially when I have an evergrowing stash of yarn and the time to knit my own.

After a lengthy search of online patterns, I could find only one other pattern specifically designed for baby's legs! And they looked a little bulky for what I wanted. So, I managed to get a sample from my local baby clothing shop and did some simple math and gauge swatches and knitted up a pair of my own. This the first pair; they are quite stiff, but would be breathable in the summer. My husband came up with the name!

Pattern:

Materials
I used Bernat kitchen cotton, but any light-medium weight yarn will do, depending on your needs, approximately 100g
size 2.5mm knitting needles (circular or straight, doesn't matter; if you are comfortable with dpn's, it would save you knitting up the seam at the end), or size to obtain gauge
darning needle

Gauge
26sts X 32rows = 10cm (4")

Pattern
Knit 2 (I knit them at the same time, to ensure duplication)
Cast on 39 sts (if using dpn's, 13 stitches on each of 3 needles).
Knit in 1X1 ribbing for 2cm (.75"), approximately 6 rows
Knit is stockingnette stitch until piece measures 26cm (11.25"), approximately 91 rows.
Knit in 1X1 ribbing for 2cm (.75"), approximately 6 rows.
Bind off.
If knit on straight needles, use darning needle to sew up the back seam.

If there are any questions or corrections, please feel free to post!

Don't worry...I won't quit my day job!

Well, I'm finally making money on my crocheting! Albeit very little...well, um, hardly any at all...but its something!? I've had a few requests for the Mini-handled Purse from co-workers who don't crochet. I've altered the pattern a little, by request, to make it bigger, by starting with 30 sc's over the handle edge. But I've also eliminated the rows of cross-double crochets and just done twenty even rows of dc. It makes for an easier pattern, and a slightly roomier purse. So I got another request on Thursday and finished it on Sunday. I had just enough Paton's Brilliant in Black Dazzle to make a short version of the Total Torque Biker Scarf at Interweave Press. Its a very 'holey' scarf, so the short version can be worn as a keyhole scarf.

Flower

I originally planned to make a poncho with flower motifs, inspired partly by this one by Drops Design/Garn Studio, but the motifs of that one were a little 'pointy' for me. So I decided to design a flower myself. Then once I made a few, the idea of the poncho kind of became, shall I say, less desirable. But the flower is cute enough to be used in other patterns or added to other designs (as we shall soon see).

You can find the pattern here.