FO: Baby Surprise Jacket II

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici Sport
Needles: US 5 Addi 40"
Cast On: 6/15/10
Cast Off: 6/23/10
Sew Up & Buttons: 6/25/10

I love this pattern. It is so amazing to knit this weird, wonky looking thing and if you fold it the proper way, its a lovely baby jacket :o)

Yarn Dyeing

The yarn dyeing bug has definitely bitten me. I have so much fun dyeing yarn. And over dyeing adds twice the fun!

This red one, started out as a Louet dye kit in browns ... well the main color was more like terra cotta, which I am not a fan of, so I overdyed it red.



This one was something that I wanted to purchase online, but didn't love the pink in the original, so I did more of a raspberry color for the pink and it came out really good, can't wait to knit this one up ... now to choose a pattern. With this one I used a different method - dipping instead of squirting color on the yarn and it worked wonderfully.



This one was the attempt at the above, but done by laying the yarn on saran wrap and squirting color on it, well the top of the skein always looks great, but underneath, not so much, so I over dyed it all blue and it came out nice shades of green, purple and blue.

Knitting Headaches

I always thought there must be a way to duplicate stitch a hole in a sock and make the knitting match up, rather than weaving like traditional darning - which I do not like the look and feel of. I found a link to a video tutorial on you tube from Knit Picks on darning techniques.



At first it was going very well, a little frustrating because of the broken ends that kept getting in the way or pulling out of stitches I thought were secure, but all in all not bad.




Further along (not pictured) when I got to the end where the coriolis band meets with increases and decreases, it wasn't going so well. While it looks better than traditional woven darning, it isn't great. I think because I was creating too many stitches and not replicating the original decreases. However, despite realizing that I was actually grinding my teeth in frustration (I do grind my teeth in my sleep, had no idea I did it while conscious!!) I gave up and went to lie down and watch tv.

I've been working on my February Lady Sweater in Malabrigo (which is such a lovely yarn to knit with) and its going well despite the fact that I keep missing yarn overs in the lace pattern. I ripped it back 6 rows last night because it was too hard to try and knit back and or rip and pick up stitches so I went back to the beginning of the lace since it was only a few rows. Now I am keeping track and making sure I have all the correct stitches. I just found a missed yarn over, but was able to correct without ripping back. Geesh! Yarn and I are not getting along this week!

Wollmeise Contest

Go and visit Jessi at her new blog and for a chance to win a lovely skien of Wollmeise!

The time has come ...

1. Diane's Gloves - need thumb an ends woven in. 1/15/10
2. Derek's scarf - needs to be completed.
3. Leyburn socks - second leg needs finishing. 1/14/10
4. Toe up socks - second heel and leg needs to be completed. 1/25/10
5. Cable bottom up sweater
6. Reversible Cable Scarf
7. Blanket square
8. Lavitan Mittens
9. Bat Shawl
10. Christmas Stocking
11. Baby Blanket
12. Drawstring Bag

Here's an update of my focused knitting list. I've taken the Lavitan Mittens off of there. I started them at a knitters guild meeting to learn the technique of braids, and that's all I did on them. Since its not actually something I was intending to make, I'm taking it off the list. I would like to complete this list by the end of the year so that I can start out 2011 without any WIPs hanging around that have been around for a few years. I've added other items which are also WIPs that I had started before we moved in 2008.

Derek's scarf needs to be completed before it gets cold out. This has been hanging around for way too long, I think I heard over the past two winters ... "Where's my scarf??" The Christmas Stocking needs to be completed by the end of the year for obvious reasons, LOL! The drawstring bag I know I was actually knitting when I went to FL for my grandmother's funeral ... in 2007.

The time has come to think about 2010 Christmas knitting! Its already half way through the year. I made some promises to knit things for people this year (but definitely didn't over extend).

1. Diane - Christmas Stocking
2. Joe - Fingerless Mitts

Now off to get knitting ...

FO: Baby Surprise Jacket

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket
Yarn: Berroco Comfort Worsted
Needes: US 7
Cast On: 5/4/10
Cast Off: 5/31/10

I took a class on this project and learned a few new things in the process. This was an awesome pattern and one I will use again if I know of any impending babies. The buttons are awesome, I got them at my local yarn shop and they really made the jacket super cute!