May 2007 Archives

I've finished an am about to mail my five Dulaan items: four hats and a scarf. I'm also sending a Dora the Explorer fleece blanket to Mongolia. My kids don't use it any more and it's doubled fleece -- so very warm. Do you think little girls around the world love pink too?

The final hat is a Meathead Hat. The bow I tied dressed it up a little, but it's not my favorite. That honor goes to the blue Greenery Hat. I'll be making one of these for myself soon!

Pattern: Meathead Hat by Larissa Brown
Yarn: Most of one skein of Wool Ease Chunky in Willow (I think), double stranded
Size: Adult small
Needles: Susan Bates size 15 circular needles (knit flat and seamed)

Well that didn't work at all. Here is what the pattern is supposed to look like.

This is what I got, modeled on my hand so you can see the stitch "pattern," if you can call it that. What on earth happened? The holes are supposed to be just offset and together line up down the leg. Mine are somehow swirling, or really just all over the place.

The pattern calls for starting and ending rows with yarn overs, which I found fiddley. I shifted the chart so the YOs were on the interior, but I can't imagine that's why my lace looks so awful. I was having some trouble keeping track of which row I was on (it seems I can not reliably count to four) and I'm hoping that's the reason.

So back we go. I'll rip back to the ribbing and start the pattern over again, taking better care to track which row I'm on. Wish me luck!

I finished these socks today.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces in Tuscany
Pattern: Stephanie Pearl McPhee's sock recipe from Knitty Gritty
Needles: Two circular Knit Picks Options, size 1
Size: The cuff is 2 inches, the leg is 7 inches.

This frees up my needles to start my pal's Sockapalooza socks. The only specification she gave was in preferring warm earth tones to rainbow colors. So is this yarn too bright?

It's burgundy, and I think would work well in the lace pattern I'd like to do (vine lace from Socks Socks Socks). Here is a finished sock I found in the pattern, though it's in a variegated yarn.

Thanks for any advice you'd like to leave.

Lilith tagged me for a meme. So here goes: seven random facts about Lauren...

1. I have a sister and a brother that are more than 30 years my junior and therefore younger than my daughter.

2. In college I took up cross stitch because I felt guilty taking time away from my studies to watch tv and thought I'd feel better if my hands were doing something productive. It didn't really help.

3. I have an MBA but use it only to "manage" my children.

4. I don't like fish, either to eat or to look at. But I happily take my kids to the aquarium before I remember how much fish sort of gross me out.

5. I did a semester abroad in the former East Berlin during college.

6. I hate the feel of foam rubber.

7. I have essentially no yarn stash. I don't like yarn sitting in my house without a project in mind. I'm much more inspired by projects and patterns than yarn, and I'm actually a little at a loss in a yarn store when I don't have a specific plan.

Presenting... Sue's first completed knitting project -- a garter stitch scarf!

We're very proud.

Here's another new baby hat I made from the Stitch N Bitch Umbilical Cord pattern. It's a roll-brim hat with an i-cord knot on the top. This one was for a mom in my mothers' club for whom I made a congratulatory dinner.

Pattern: Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch N Bitch. CO 56 stitches.
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino, color 108