Baby's Covered For Several Years-Part 1

My original thought was to make a baby sweater, for a baby, before the baby was born. I checked all of EZ's books out of the library system (I didn't have to wait long for any of them...knitters in Wisconsin either already have them or I caught them all sleeping!) read ferociously and decided on the Tomten. Actually, my heart was set on the BSJ but I Did have to wait for that particular book and I had to start the sweater quickly. Babies have a way of arriving right around the 9-month point and I only had about 3 months to go before the Person of Unknown Gender arrived.

We met the family of the baby during the 4 year period of our Alpaca Adventure and became good friends. Although we no longer have the actual alpacas grazing and pooping on our farm, we have a room full of yarn and roving and fleece. Since our initial contact with our friends was through the Alpaca World and since our friends are still heavily involved in the business what could be more obvious a choice for this small sweater than ALPACA! I dug around in my stash and found a sport weight white that I could dye their signature purple and put it with my favorite dark brown to make a striking sweater to fit both a boy or a girl!

First, to dye. I had earlier dyed some of my own handspun (my first) using Cushing Dye in "Red Grape." I really liked the shade of purple so I went to my local rug hooking store and picked up a packet of dye. I also thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try out a new dyeing technique. So combining the information on the dye packet ("this will dye 1 pound of fiber") and the instructions for crock pot dyeing I stuffed 1 pounds worth of yarn, roving, and a pair of Lovikka mittens I made for a belated Christmas present. I saw my mistake shortly after I finished cramming the yarn gently into the pot. I had purple water running over the side of the pot and onto the white kitchen countertop. After bailing and bleaching and Gently Stirring, I completed the process. I was hoping for a nicely uniform color throughout but instead I got a Gorgeous Variegated yarn in shades of Red Grape. (Thankfully the mittens were mostly uniform.) The roving, btw, is a bit felted but will make a lovely thick fulled "something" someday.

Back to the Tomten. I tried following all of EZ's advice. Check your gauge, relax, check your gauge, think and meditate, check your gauge, control your knitting, check your gauge....

Some kind of weird gremlin was in my needles because no matter what size I used, I had the same gauge. So I figured I'd be tightening up at some point and since it's a baby he/she'd be able to use the thing at some point. The size 6!

Since the brown yarn was more in the way of a worsted weight, I used one strand of the brown and 2 strands of the purple. Not all together! Brown with purple stripes and one fawn stripe. (Fawn is alpacaspeak for tan.)

I Owned my knitting. I didn't make any short rows across the back despite EZs admonition that this will keep it from riding up. I strolled through the body and up the fronts and back. When I came to a direction that made no sense (this is NOT a reflection on Mrs. Zimmermann by any means!) I did what I thought I should and it didn't turn out badly. I became concerned about the amount of yarn I had left. I still needed to do the sleeves which, I felt was more important than the hood, so I knitted up so that there would be enough for a collar, left the stitches on the cord (I'm using my Options set) and proceeded down the arms.

I was adding stripes where ever I wanted to and when I sewed up the last arm seam, all I had left was to decide Yes or No to the hood and how to finish the front.

Not being overly fond of tinking and getting ready to move on to the next thing, I decided No to the hood and concentrated my efforts on the trim. I decided to put an I-cord trim on the front edges and finish with a zipper (not an option for embellishment offered in "Knitting Without Tears"...how's that for being in Control of My Knitting?!).

Then I saw a method for making I-cord loop buttonholes and the decisiveness just left my body.

Another bump in the road to knitted bliss is the fact that with No Hood, I have an inside edge that will now be showing on the outside! How bad does it look?




So I finished one side with the I-cord to the top and the other side I made the I-cord long enough to double back over the outside edge of the collar.

Now what?

Oh, btw, the baby, a boy, was born in April and is busy depriving his parents of sleep.

Also, this 6-9 month sweater turned into a kindergarten sweater. Maybe not quite kindergarten but he won't be wearing it any time soon. So I got a bit of time to waffle back and forth with my decisions.

And I just finished a pair of Side Step Baby socks for the current 6 months. More on those the next post.

My Very Own Afghan!

Sort of.

I have this yearning to knit something for everyone I know. This works very well for mothers, girl friends, grandmothers, babies. Not so good for husbands or step sons. One, because he is practically anti-fashion and the other, because he is Quite Particular.

I solved the one by knitting socks which are only worn around the house in the dead of winter and I am solving the other by making an afghan. BSS is a junior and will be heading off to cold college in a little over a year and he has agreed to allow me to make him an afghan. His only requirements are color and "not too holey."

Excellent! I can DO this.

I've even decided to Design My Own. Can't be too difficult since there aren't any sleeves to attach, etc. I posted a question...series of them actually...to KnitList and several very helpful people gave me ideas.

My orginal thought was to use a superwash wool, just in case BSS decided to wash the thing. My eyes first fell upon KnitPicks Swish Superwash in Dublin. My LYS suggested an acrylic from Dark Horse which would be affordable, soft, and wear pretty well. It really felt nice but I just have this aversion to acrylic. Probably from all the years of using Red Heart before I discovered Real Yarn. Does this make me a yarn snob? Oh well..gotta be something!

Then I Googled superwash yarn and found Sarah's Yarns. There I found a superwash lamb's wool by JaggerSpun in a lace weight that was Very Affordable and had the lovely option of Trying Before Buying. In spite of the fact that I ordered the wrong wool, I can't wait to get my needles on this yarn. What I ordered is close to what I actually wanted so I may not reorder...we'll see.

For the pattern, I am looking through the Vogue "Stitchionary" books to come up with 3 or more stitches to use in a sampler type of pattern. I have waffled between knitting one big piece and knitting in sections and then joining. I have tentatively decided to do sections and then join the pieces with a three needle bind off. I think this will give durability to the joins rather than simply sewing up. Besides, I hate sewing up.

Now I just have to decide on the stitches. A panel of each with a seed stitch border. I think with the 3 needle bind off, I'll leave the border off certain sides so that all the borders will be equal. Gotta get it on paper.

In fact, writing about it makes me want to do it.

Off I go.

If It Isn't One Thing...

Working for a tax accountant really makes for a rather preoccupied winter. I've managed to knit a bit and read a bit but real life has taken a back seat. I don't even work "full time" but to me, working everyday is full time. I simply don't manage work, husband, family, house work very well all at once. I've said before that I will probably never be classified as a workaholic or type-A personality since it's very simple for me to let What Must Be Done remain undone while What Needn't Be Done is indulged in on a whim. Which is why, during this terribly busy time for most people who work in the tax business, I have managed to complete a washcloth and wrist warmers, begun and nearly finished a baby/toddler sweater, and am planning an afghan extravaganza...as well as read at least a dozen books. Of course, ask my BH what has been neglected and he will firmly and resoundingly reply, "ME!"

Poor thing.

So now that taxes are done, I've begun thinking about gardening and have even ordered seeds from Seeds of Change. Since I ordered so late, I missed out on a few things but my fellas don't thrive on vegetables unless they are in the form of pizza sauce so I guess it's no great loss. OH, except for sweet corn which BH is extremely keen to get in the ground so we can have corn for July 4. In the northern part of Wisconsin, it is an accepted fact of life that gardens do Not go in until after the 15th of May. Accept, of course, for potatoes which Must be planted on Good Friday. So yesterday, April 20th, when BH called me at work and wanted to know if I wanted to plant sweet corn this weekend...I was a little stunned. THEN he informed me that we were going to start planting...meaning regular field corn in the fields...today. So that means that now my life will be full of feeding hungry farmers, running to the implement dealer for parts, driving tractor (I hope!) and being all around "gofer."

So, if it isn't one thing...it's another.

Life is like that.

Lovely, hmmm?

Dishcloth Itch Scratched

I found this Great pattern for a modular dishcloth but due to my odd knitting habits or whatever, it is not strictly a square piece. My friend Sharon, when she observed me ripping out, said, "Jolene, it's a Dish Cloth!"

Yup, a wobbly edged, sunny dishcloth.

Should make my dishes sparkle, huh?

Now that that's done, I think I'm over the most recent dishcloth urge.

Another Day, Another Change...

Okay, so now I've decided to devote this to what I'm reading and what I'm knitting and it'll be purely for my own use. It's nice to track what I've done...makes me feel like I really am accomplishing something.

So, as for what I'm reading....

It's another go 'round for the Mitford Series. There is something wise, charming, funny, and real about this little village and it's residents. I've been reading mysteries and this is giving my brain a break from crime. Somehow reading about the simple, daily lives of Father Tim helps to encourage me in my daily life. He and Cynthia and the others, live their faith but have struggles that anyone could have. Reliance on God for making it through, being human, reaching others in the place where they are at. Not being afraid of talking about what is important...and if afraid, overcoming it somehow.

Now, what I've been knitting.

Since the Christmas KAL (where I happily won a prize and am waiting with anticipation for my sock yarn!) I've finished another pair of fingerless mittens. These are for my mom who quilts in her cold basement sewing room and needs toasty hands and free fingers. I used Autumn Walk from Catalina Yarns for the pattern and a lovely handpainted wool/mohair yarn from a local spinner Loretta Pederson/Blackberry Hills. The only "on purpose" change I made was the cables to a 2x2 ribbing. I tried and tried the cables but just couldn't get the hang of it. Everything kept getting tighter and tighter so I decided to make the ribbing change and work on cables another time. I did make a "on accident" change and one mitten is three rows shorter at the top but I tried them on and I'm pretty sure the warmth factor isn't much different.

Let me tell you about Sophie

I have never had a dog before.

I've been owned by many cats. I have always considered myself a cat person. I like their independence. If a cat comes to you, it's because they really feel that you are worthy of their attention. It's an honor to be acknowledged by a cat.

I like that.

However, I had never been introduced to a Great Dane before.

Sophie came into our lives at the age of 8 weeks. 48 pounds of rapidly growing bones, an empty belly, floppy ears, a whip of a tail and Teeth. Teeth that Must Chew. And cheeks that can easily hide a refrigerator.

She has grown up, literally and figuratively. She no longer has to chew everything that is still for 2 minutes. She does like to cuddle with socks and underwear and she'll give our shoes an affectionate gnaw once in a while but her need to eat furniture seems to be past.

Sophie is a champion farter. The rule seems to be pretty solid. If you can hear it you're probably safe. The sneaky ones seem to coat your mouth and can clear a room in seconds.

I have found what I thought was a cobweb hanging from the ceiling only to find when I go to wipe it down that it's really dried doggy drool. Cleaning has become much more involved. The cat required more vacuuming. Sophie requires buckets of hot water for drool detail.

She is a lap dog in the body of a small horse. I often find her sitting on the couch looking out the window. Don't picture her sitting like other, less significant dogs. Her butt is on the couch and her back feet are dangling and her front feet are on the floor. She also likes to sit on my lap. Imagine a teenager sitting on your lap. Now imagine that this teenager is covered in fur, has long floppy ears and a long line of drool from lip to floor.

That's my girl.

My favorite Dane website has a Dane Owner's Checklist and I am always amazed at how so many of the things listed are really true!

Sophie is busy barking in the background so I'd better go and assure her that the table and chairs are really quite safe.

Ta!

Starting Anew

This blog at it's beginning, had no purpose. It was like others, just a place to hear myself talk. An online journal. A place to pretend to be literate, wise, poetic, clever.

Now, I hope, it will be a cyber coffee shop for Sara, Judy, and I.

A place to chat, post the odd thought (what? from us? odd? Never!), the obscure observation, the favorite recipe, the sorrowful lament, the deep tearing pains, the funny thing the husband or kids or grandkids said or did, the searing critique of the Seattle Talent on American Idol...whatever.

I've sent the invitations to the girls.

We'll see what happens.

In the meantime....

Christmas Eve in Virginia

We have arrived at our Christmas destination and the trip was lovely. We left Wednesday afternoon and the wipers were never off until we arrived Friday evening. We were a soggy group, tromping around the hills of eastern Ohio looking at cattle but the company was pleasant and the conversation rich. The farmer and his family are lovely homey people who we connected with when we met them earlier this year and it was a pleasure to pick up our acquaintance again now.

Yesterday the group of us, In-Laws, Sister, BIL, and niece went into the city (DC) and saw the American Indian museum, the Air and Space Museum, and saw the movie "Night in the Museum" in Imax at the museum. What a great day.

No jackets all day. We saw a Christmas show on the mall that was in support of the armed forces and the Santa Claus was great. Bushy white eyebrows and a plush gorgeous costume. It looked like it was created at the North Pole.

We waited in line for the movie for an hour and made friends of two couples each with small children. We thought that they were friends because their kids played and ran around together but they had just met as well. Is it Christmas that relaxes our privacy walls and allows us to connect with strangers? The children have that natural ability and it seems that we put up our firewalls as we grow. Too bad for us.

Today, the girls (MIL, SIL, niece and I) did a little last minute shopping and everyone found what they wanted. Now we're relaxing at home. After this post, I'm going to work again on the socks. Nearing the toes! Hope I can get them done in time.

Finished the Andromeda Strain and am looking forward to seeing the movie. The technology that is mentioned in the book is fairly common now but I wonder how much was known back then when the book was written.

I'm listening to "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies." The series is one of the most charming and wise set of books I have ever listened to. I enjoy the serenity, simplicity, and kindness of the books as well as the "silliness"...that's what my MIL says. Which is rather ironic since she is currently enjoying my book "Redwall", a book about mice who live in an abbey and have adventures. Now that's silly.

Merry Christmas.

Knitting and Reading A Go Go

We're leaving in a matter of hours for a long road trip to visit relatives for Christmas. DH and I along with my In-Laws will be in a small enclosed space for 3 days.

God Help Us.

So, second in importance only to enough underwear, is plenty of knitting, reading and a fully charged iPod complete with 3 unabridged audio books. Currently reading "The Andromeda Strain" in the paper and listening to "In The Company of Cheerful Ladies" on the iPod. Knitting projects will include the Christmas socks (1 left...or right, hee hee), a recycled silk scarf and some wool/mohair wrist warmers.

Included in the trip is a stop at a cattle farm to pick up some young bulls and perhaps a heifer or two as well as another stop to pick up some semen.

Life as a farm wife is definately not boring. Always have a way to liven up the dinner conversation!

Merry Christmas.

Now I have to find time for this!

I already have trouble finding time...no, Taking Time...for real world activities. Now I've added blogging to my world. Will this become another obsession along with Knitting and Reading?

I've gotten 2 out of 3 Christmas presents completed. A handknit alpaca shawl for Grandma L and wristwarmers for my MIL. 1 sock complete for a large footed person in my life. I've gotten a request for Lovikka mittens and a pair of black wrist warmers. The mittens are in progress but the wrist warmers won't be done until well after Christmas since I have to spin the yarn. Unless I use the black wool I already have....hmmm....I wonder how important it is for it to be alpaca?