Sydney

Yes, I know, it's been weeks since I posted anything. That's partly because I took a few days off from knitting to do laundry and gardening and housework. And it's partly because my progress has been slow on the projects I have been working on. But I finally have an in-progress picture of my latest: Sydney Claire!  It's about 18 inches long, and I'm planning on making it about 40-45, so I've got a long way to go.

 It's a baby blanket for my newest niece, and it bears her name.  I'm using KP Brava (100% acrylic), which is better than most acrylics I've tried, but still acrylic. Which means it's not among my favorite yarns to work with. But since Sydney's mommy is not a knitter and probably won't have the time for special care fibers, since she has a special needs baby, I decided washability was more important.  Sydney was born almost 7 weeks ago, and just went home from the hospital right before Mother's Day.  She was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.  She'll have a lot of challenges ahead of her, but she's a fighter. And isn't she adorable??

My brother Steve and his wife Mandy are so happy to finally have their little bear cub(they're huge Chicago Bears fans) home! I've got to get this blanket done pronto, so I can go meet her!

Grace Irene

My latest pattern is up on Knit Picks!  I know I've already posted about "Grace Irene", but now it's official.

The pattern is available here for $1.99.  This is a very easy pattern and it goes really quickly! I found it hard to put these down while I was working on them.

New Pattern!

My newest pattern is up! This is Sisterhood. It's my tribute to the Bunker Babes. I love y'all, ladies!

 The pattern is available here for $2.99.  

This is my most challenging pattern to date; it is definitely not a "beginner" level pattern.  

Photo Shoot

We finally got a warm enough day for a photo shoot. After an early false spring, we got a couple weeks of cold, windy weather.  Anyway, here's a few of the pics we took today...

Princess, wearing "Grace Irene". I am aware that her tank is a bit low in front. I think I'm going to shorten the straps, then take some more pics.

 Here are Princess and Kitty, each wearing "Grace Irene". I wanted a shot that showed both the front and the back at once, so I made tanks for both of them.

 And last but not least, here's Angel, wearing "Theresa Nichole". This tank looks so great on her. 

I still need to decide what other sizes to include in the pattern. I don't want to go much smaller, since the hibiscus motif is so large. If I wrote the pattern for a size 2 or even a 4, the flower would be too big to be clearly seen.  So I'm considering going larger with the pattern, maybe including a 12 and 14.

A peek into my designing process

I'm working on my pattern "Grace Irene". 

It's a cabled tank top for little girls. I actually designed it a couple of years ago, but didn't keep notes, or do more than one size.  So I'm figuring that out now. 

I had to swatch, because I made the original in worsted weight and decided to change the pattern to work with DK weight. I wanted to use Knit Picks CotLin yarn, which is a nice cotton/linen blend DK yarn. So that was the first obstacle. 

Second obstacle: this yarn has no elastic whatsoever, so it doesn't respond like the cotton/acrylic I had used the last time I made one of these. So instead of being form-fitting, it's loose and drapey. Which is fine; I just had to adjust my expectations.  

Next hurdle: figuring out the different sizes. I had to choose a cast-on number that was divisible by 6, because I wanted to use a 4x2 ribbing. Then I had to figure out where exactly I wanted the cable columns for each size. I couldn't just pick at random, because I wanted them to go up the straps and connect in the back by grafting in pattern. If done right, the front and back should be identical.

I didn't do it right. I forgot an important detail regarding which way to cross the cables. They don't match up how I wanted them to. So this one definitely has a front and a back. I'm going to make another one so I can get this problem rectified. Fortunately, my test-knitter hadn't started yet by the time I discovered the issue, so hers will be right.

Even with the mistake, this turned out pretty cute, if I do say so. 

And now I'm also working on my next design "Theresa Nichole"...maybe I'll give y'all a glimpse in another post. I just had to frog and start over on this one, so I'm thinking it's going to give me a few problems too.

Drive-by blogging

I've got my garden started inside!

Felted Potholders

I made some terrific felted potholders recently, but forgot to download the photos from my camera until today. So now I can give you the little tutorial I had planned on writing. Better late than never.  Of course, I forgot how many stitches I cast on. So technically, this isn't a pattern, just a how-to.

I used 100% non-superwash wool. It was Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (worsted) in a discontinued color called Tomato. I think I used a US8 needle.

I started with the tubular caston, and I used an even number. Here's a video tutorial by Ysolda Teague. But instead of doing ribbing after completing the caston, I knitted tubular stockinette. The way to do that is to [Slip1, Knit1] repeat across. And every row is done the same way. I wanted square potholders, so I knit long rectangles, roughly 150% as long as wide. When I felt they were long enough, I used the tubular bindoff. Here's a written tutorial by TechKnitter. I started where she says "Phase 3: Grafting". You can see the measurements of the potholders in the photo below.

 Being relatively inexperienced at felting, I wasn't sure how well these tubular rectangles would felt. I was afraid that the two sides wouldn't felt together to make a nice flat piece, so I basted them with sewing thread. Not sure whether that was necessary, but it didn't hurt.

 Then I ran them through the washer with some jeans. Twice. I have a front-loader, so it doesn't agitate much. They didn't come out perfectly square, but I think they're close enough! So I pinned them out to dry. Here's the after-felting pic:

 And then, since I didn't want plain, boring potholders, I crocheted some tiny snowflakes out of white laceweight wool. After blocking them, I needle-felted them on to the potholders. I had never needle-felted before, and I enjoyed it. It was very easy, and I love the finished product.

 So there you have it: how-to make felted potholders.

In other knitting news, I finished the Sisterhood Blanket! The color isn't quite right on this pic. I'll take more pics once it's dry.