In the midst of caring for a chicken poxy child (the younger) I knit up a pair of birthday gifts for my friend's Tucker and Jennifer who share a birthday which also happens to have been my grandfather's birthday. He would have 101 this year! Anyway, I knit up mitts for Tucker (Rav link) and bike ear warmers for Jennifer (Rav link). I'm thinking of kntiting a pair of those for myself. They look like they'd be good at keeping the cold breezes out.

In honor of finishing two things and in spite of my Hempstream pullover still not being done I started a Pucker (Rav link). The pattern is written for a worsted weight yarn (5 sts to the inch) and I don't have any sweater quantities of worsted weight yarn that would work so I'm using DK weight yarn (5.5 sts to the inch).  I picked a larger size than I would knit for myself normally based on the change in measurements from using a thinner yarn. The size I picked calls for 1100 yards of the recommended yarn and I have 1370 of my thinner yarn. I'm feeling anxious that it's not enough. This half a ball of stockinette has resulted in about an inch of sweater.

beginnig of pucker

We won't even talk about how much time that inch of sweater took either. After four inches I get to start decrasing, but not all that much. We'll see how far I get before I decide this isn't such a great plan.

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Susanne's babies like these so much she asked me to make two more to have one in case one needs to be washed or such. You know I'm a sucker for bunnies, so I was happy to oblige.

blanket buddies

It was nice to see the bunnies after they'd be used and loved and washed for a while. The yarn really bloomed up in a lovely way. The ones in the front are the new ones.

twin blanket buddies

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I just registered for Sock Summit! I'll be taking Socks without Wool with Amy Singer on Saturday and attending the luminary panel on Sunday. I plan to be there on Friday to check out the marketplace as well. Since we're driving, we'll see how that plan goes.

See you in Portland, Sock Summiteers!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

So, I've been wanting to weave. I think it started when I heard Brenda Dayne talking about the Ashford Knitter's Loom on Cast On. Then Faith got a Schacht Cricket Loom. This post in particular intrigued me. (Scroll past her very impressive pregnant belly there.) I then found out that the Textiles class at Niels' school owns a loom. I thought it was a big floor loom model and had decided I would figure it out over the summer, having never actually seen it. I took a close look at my friend Victoria's floor loom (which I think is a Schacht Baby Wolf) and panicked. I happened to be in Purlescence last week (funny how you know even now that this sentence ends wth me buying something, don't you?) and looked again at the Cricket looms and, as you guessed, brought one home. Yesterday, I assembled it.

my new cricket

Assembling turned out to be easier (for me) than warping which challenged me. I ended up warping it incorrectly the first time.

warping the loom

I'm not sure how I'm going to warp it longer than my kitchen table in the future.

60" warp

I had missed bringing the wap over the beams when I set it up the first time. It wasn't too hard to fix, though.

ready-ish to weave

Once I fixed the warping I got off and running...

the first few inches

And tonight I have my first finished woven object!

all done!

So it isn't very long (about 30 inches) and the edges aren't great but it's my first project and it was done so fast I'm astonished. I have ideas about what my next project might be. Kristi gave me some cone cotton yarn when she moved that I'm thinking might make nice placemats, or a handtowel or something like that. The possibilities are endless! Well, 10" wide but as long as I can stand warping!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I got out my copy of Creepy Cute Crochet to look for instructions on how to make the general body shape I wanted for the Mystery Animal. Stefan had other ideas, though. Stefan said he wanted "the green guy", otherwise known as Cthulhu. Luckily, he's a lot more friendly looking in a small crochet version.

stefan and cthulhu

cthulhu's wings

Obviously, he needs eyes. I didn't have the right sized safety eyes so I figured I'd find something after he was finished. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble embroidering them on. I might take a page from Janice's book and get some felt.

The part that amuses me about all of this is that Cthulu (yes, without the second H) was Erik's screen name on the MUD where we met so I feel connected to that name. Stefan still calls this "that green guy" though, which is super cute. Also, he doesn't seem at all bothered by That Green Guy's lack of eyes.

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Stefan, Niels and I were at Books Inc today and they had a couple of baskets by the register filled with giant microbes. They were picking them up and admiring them and pointing out that the chicken pox one is kind of cute, and looks a bit like a chicken. Then Niels picks up one and says, "what's this? It says 'her-ups'?" That's herpes, folks. They also had HIV and The Clap. There was also staph and strep and stomachache and others but somehow, we kept ending up with the, ahem, social diseases. In fact, I practically had to pry the clap out of Stefan's hands so he would leave it there. I actually said, "Put that back, we are not bringing the Clap home." I crack myself up.

clap

Anyway, you can see why he liked it. It's kind of cute. It also bears a resemblance to the way the mystery animal on Zoboomafoo often appears. He had decided it was the mystery animal, and that's why he wanted it. So, I'm thinking that I could reproduce a mystery animal. All I need to do is crochet a body and head piece without adding arms and legs, right? I just need some safety eyes and cuddely, fuzzy yarn.

zoboo mystery animal

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I made another bag with that same fabric. This time I made a reversible tote bag with pockets.

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I sewed a little drawstring bag for one of Niels' friends for her birthday. We put her Pokemon book in it instead of wrapping it up. I altered the bag so that the ties come out both sides but I forgot that when you do that you actually need two full length ties, not just knots on each end. Oops. I have fabric cut out to make one for myself. I think it would make a cute project bag.

drawstring bag

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

This morning I went and helped to set up the Textiles portion of the kids' art show at City Hall. We hung two of the quilts from the banister and I think it looks really cool.

The other two hung on the panels with the other various projects that we did. That worked out well, I think, because the two on the panels are the ones with more quilting on them, which would be hard to see if they were up high.

I love the way we hang up the dyed silk circles. It's like stained glass.

silk dyeing

This afternoon I went over to Purlescence to get something and I must have had sewing on the brain because I came home with a sewing book.

Sew What! Bags: 18 Pattern-Free Projects You Can Customize to Fit Your Needs

Lexie Barnes

Then I made this:

I made a bag

Which Stefan liked.

Stefan claimed it

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Sorry I've been so quiet. I've been busy with the arts class at Niels school. Our art show gets set up tomorrow so all of the quilts had to be finished. Mom bound the two from the first session and I bound the two from the second (after spending a lot of time a couple of weeks ago putting them together). I think they look good.

The kids from the first session were into the piecing (we have two 12-square quilts with enough for a pillow from one of them!) and the kids from the second session were more into the quilting. I only put 9 squares in each one, and a lot of the squares weren't all put together but they quilted like crazy. It's funny to see the difference.

As far as knitting goes, I have been pretty monogamously knitting on my Slipstream. The back and both sleeves are done and pictured below. The front is up to the straight section of the waist, so I'm getting pretty close!

sweater in progress

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

This week I learned something totally unrelated to yarn on Ravelry: You don't need butter or marshmallows to make rice crispy treats.

peanut butter rice crispy treat

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Stitches West is over. I am sad to see Kristi go (and Jeni, but she's here for another week) but I am kind of relieved that it's all over. I didn't even go at all on Friday and it still felt like a packed weekend to me. I handed out a bunch of my business cards (seen below) to various yarn companies and designers. Hopefully some of them will need my services.

business cards!

I had a class with Cat Bordhi today and aside from learning all sorts of things about sock design and lots of tips for perfect toe-up sock cast ons and how to make your SSKs tighter she gave me some advice for becoming a sought-after tech editor. I am going to follow her suggestions and see how that goes for me.

So, what did I buy? The first day, I bought buttons for  my February Lady Sweater. I walked up to the Button Lady booth with the sweater and said I needed buttons and she pulled out the most perfect green/brown horn button from her vintage buttons box. Fifty cents each!

february lady sweater with buttons

Perfection. Thursday, I also bought the Woolly Thoughts book on modular knitting ideas from the Village Spinners and Weavers booth.

I was ogling Norah Gaughan Vol. 4 and the flower child sweater. Foolishly, I didn't pick up the yarn for it right then from WEBS. I did get the booklet and on Saturday I ordered the yarn (in a lovely teal color). The other yarn purchases happened at Bobbin's Nest Studio's after Stitches party. I got one ball of Panda Soy solid to coordinate with a variegated color that I have so I can use the solid for the toe, heel and cuff. My impulse purchase was ten balls of chocolate brown Vickie Howell Craft yarn. It's really pretty. I don't know what I'm going to use it for yet. I couldn't not take it though. I love that color.

stitches stuff

After all of this my stash number is now at 44394.5 yards or 25.2 miles of yarn. I just finished a whole sweater, but that's still up a mile since my last calculation. That's somewhat disappointing!  Ah well, head down, keep knitting!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I decided at the beginning of this month that is an ideal time to knit the February Lady Sweater, since it's February and all. I also seem to like to set an unrealistic goal of finishing a sweater for myself the month of Stitches. I don't know why I do that. In any case, I'm actually close to my goal this time. The body is all knit and I am close to being done with the first sleeve. At a suggestion from Mary I wet the sleeve and hung it up (on my new duct tape torso replica) to see if it would grow. I'm glad I did, the sleeve was 1 inch longer in the morning! I might atually finish it by Thursday. Or at least Saturday.

tape-igail models my sweater

Since I couldn't knit on that sweater last night while it was hanging up, I started something new. I've been wanting to knit the Slipstream Pullover from More Big Girl Knits for a while, since the book came out. Last night, I finally cast on and started one of the sleeves. So far, so good!

slipstream sleeve

Stefan wanted the baby tree kangaroo to be in the picture. I love this color of Hempathy. There are a lot of stitches in this sweater, at 22 sts to four inches, but it's going to be lovely and drapey, I am pretty certain.

Now, the only thing I need to remember is that I have homework before my Stitches class this weekend. I might have to use All Seasons Cotton for that, since it's the only sock-appropriate light colored yarn that I have in a heavier weight. I think it will work.

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Just over six months after starting them, I finished my Woven Ridges socks yesterday. I am not sure why these took me so long. A severe case of second sock syndrome, I suppose! I wore them all day and I love them already.

finished socks, 6 months later!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

I have been thinking for a while that it would be nice to have a Clapotis that didn't have lots of bulky end fabric hanging off of it. When I saw everyone knitting up cowls this winter a Cowlotis seemed like the perfect plan. I couldn't think of what yarn to use until I fell in love with a hank of Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Luscious Silk at Purlescence on the day of the yarn swap. The results are gorgeous, thanks to the softness and incredible sheen of the yarn, but a bit floppier than I was hoping. I used less than half of the hank, so I might knit a plain stockinette cowl with the rest of this. This yarn must be next to my neck. It's just so soft. (Have I mentioned that it is soft? Actually, it might need to be ribbed so it stretches over my head without being too floppy again.

Abigail's Cowotis

Using size 6 needles, CO 52 sts (multiple of 6 plus 4) provisionally (I used Fleegle's Provisional Cast-On)

Work section 3 of Clapotis stitch pattern, the straight rows, until length is about the circumference of your head, ending after a row 12.

Graft the stockinette sections using kitchener stitch, skipping over drop stitches. Weave in ends, enjoy the softness!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

A friend of mine is having twins soon and I attended a baby shower for her last weekend. What did I knit? Bunnies of course.

I also gave her Stefan's pair of Blu knitted jeans and I am working on a second pair so she has one for each twin. Here's a picture of Stefan wearing his pair one of the few times he had disposible diapers on so they fit.

(I can hardly believe he was every so tiny. Eep.)

Anabel posted on the BobaKnit list that we have more requests for boobs than we have boobs knit so I knit one up superfast at Boba today. I arrived at about 2:40 and handed it to Anabel at around 5:40. Speed boob!

knitted boobs for breastfeding instruction

Since Anabel had finished up two while we were there, I took a group shot too.

knitted boobs for breastfeding instruction

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Niels was finally well enough to be willing to model his new sweater today. Not well enough to go to school, but well enough for modeling.

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Kristan asked me about yarn storage:
As a non-knitter, I have become curious about all of this yarn. WHERE DO YOU KEEP IT? What organization system is maintained for that purpose? How do you keep the boys out of it?

I took a few pictures for you Kristan. After seeing how organized your house is, I'm hoping you'll still want to speak to me after you see my yarn storage. ;)

main yarn storage

This tower of bins in the corner of my living room is my main yarn storage. When I first started I had two of those blue bins on the bottom there, then I traded one of them for the larger clear bin on top of the blue one. Then my All Seasons Cotton stash required its own bin and I added that small clear one. That stash outgrew that bin and the clear bin with the blue lid is sweater quantities of yarn. The basket is supposed to be current projects but it's often where unfinishd or ignored projects go to marinate and think about what they've done to make me mad.

Sadly, it doesn't end there.

secondary yarn storage

I'm not sure now where I got the idea, but I decided that once I wasn't growing Kombucha anymore I could use the giant jar to store sock yarn. It's kept out of the dust, but I can still see it! Unforunately, it's not big enough, and that cardboard box has quite a bit of sock (and other) yarn also.

And yes, one more picture.

newly colonized yarn drawer

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Purlescence had a yarn swap today and I made out like a bandit.

I also brought home one skein of yarn that I had to pay for: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Luscious silk in the sapphire colorway. I've been lusting after this yarn for a while and I have plan for it, so home it came. This photo doesn't do it justice, believe me.

IMG_0634.JPG

I had all the yarn out on the floor in the office (an advantage of cleaning up the office is that I can use the floor, even if it's just for poorly lit photo shoots). Stefan decided that all the yarn spread out looked like a garden and started arranging it and stuffing some of the balls into shoes. The ones he was stuffing into shoes are actually sock yarn. Smart kid, eh?

stefan arranged a garden of yarn, in his words

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com

Someone on Ravelry posted a link to an article on Knitter's Review about Slow Stashing. I like the sound of that. That is sort of what my deal with Kristi has made me do. When I want to buy yarn I have to really think about how much I've knit recently and whether this yarn is worth using up my allotment of allowed purchases or, worse, pushing me over the edge. In the past almost every time I've bought sale yarn just because it was on sale, I've ended up with yarn for which I couldn't find a project, so I am not doing that. It's hard, honestly, it seems like every time I turn around someone is having a sale, but I must be strong and use the yarn I have.

In that vein, I decided to recalculate my stash number. I sort of aired out my stash a couple of days ago, going through the bins, seeing what was where. I did find a few things that weren't in Ravelry, even though I keep thinking it all is. I thought that my stash number would go up because of that but I also found some things in Ravelry that I hadn't marked as used up. I'm "down" to 54968.8, or 31.23 miles. That's down 3 miles! I would like to see it go down another 10,000 yards or about 5 miles this year. I'm not making any declarations or resolutions or anything like that, just a casual goal. You'd think that if I can finish 51 knitted objects in a year, I can use 5 miles of yarn. That's only about 200 yards of yarn per item. Finishing what's on my needles would probably be a good start.

Happy Knitting in 2009 to you all!

Originally posted on abigailvr.vox.com