When I saw my sister-in-law Michelle in Dublin back in January 2011, she asked me to knit a warm jacket sized for a 3-4 year old for her son Harry for the next winter.  Well, that winter will soon be here.  I started researching jacket patterns in late September by going through my dozen or so books of patterns for children.  I narrowed the possibilities down to what I liked and thought Michelle might like.  I then had George go through my choices and narrow them down further by what he liked.  We ended up choosing the Riddler Jacket pattern out of the book "Rowan Tadpoles and Tiddlers" by Louisa Harding.

I knew I wanted to knit the jacket out of some of the Jamieson's Shetland Heather that I had bought from Simply Shetland when I was working there.  Again I consulted George about which colours to use as I wanted to do the two colour Riddler Jacket.  The available colours were:

Water Cricket (an autumny blend)


Loden (a very dark green):


And Gingersnap (a heathered orange):


We decided on Water Cricket and Loden, and I started by knitting a sleeve as a gauge swatch.  The swatch seemed to work out well so I knitted the rest of the parts, using a little Gingersnap for the pocket linings.

Here are all the pieces blocked out and ready for the next step:



Now I need to sew the shoulders together, and pick up stitches to knit the button bands and collar.  I sure hope it fits Harry when it's done.  And that Michelle likes it!

I've steeked (cut open the knitted tube) both front and back for the blanket.  Here are some pictures of the steeking process.

First I stitched all the yarn strands down using my sewing machine.  I attempted to put that line of stitching between the lines of colour and the middle brown section.  I needed stitching on both sides of where I would cut.  Then I gritted my teeth and made the first cut, hoping I'd caught all the strands so nothing would unravel:

Halfway done cutting.  You can see both sides of the knitted fabric:



The steek is completely cut:



The front of the future blanket:



And the back of the blanket:



Now I need to block (soak, squeeze out excess water and pin into approximate shape & size I want) the front and back of the blanket, and then I'll be ready to pick up stitches for knitting the border.

This past weekend (Oct 21-23), I spent away at the Snohomish Knitters Guild Fall Knitting Retreat at Camp Huston in Gold Bar, WA.  We had 35 women gathered in one lodge to knit and share.  I took a few photos Saturday night of everyone knitting, crocheting, spinning, talking and generally having a great time:

I liked the combination of the colour of April's shawl and the colour of the skirt she was knitting:



And I just loved the colorway this woman was knitting with:

I wanted to make something special and fun to stand out from the Christmas gifts my nephew Harry will be receiving two weeks before his third birthday, which is January 6th. I found a cute, fun pattern by Evelyn Clark called Sock Monkey Scarf.


Copyright © 2007 www.evelynclarkdesigns.com

The moment I saw it, I knew that was the gift I needed to knit for Harry.  I purchased the PDF pattern a couple of weeks ago and went to Seattle Yarn last week to pick out some good machine washable yarn.  With the help of the clerk, I decided on Berroco Vintage yarn, a blend of 50% acrylic, 40% wool and 10% nylon.  The wool will help keep Harry warm while the acrylic and nylon means the scarf will be able to be machine washed multiple times.  I selected chocolate brown, golden brown and brick red as colors that would look good on Harry and look something monkey-like.

On Thursday, I cast on the scarf and I finished knitting it Saturday night while on the Snohomish Knitters Guild's Fall Knitting Retreat.  Almost everyone at the retreat admired the pattern and thought it adorable.  Now I need to sew the facial features and a button on the pocket, and the scarf will be ready for wrapping.

I frogged (knitting slang for completely ripping out a knitted project) the first Bobbi hat while reknitting it on a smaller needle.  The density and sizing of the hat looks much better.



The sides are shorter so I don't know if they will cover Lizzy's ears, but at least the hat is finally done!



The pattern had called for a heavy worsted weight yarn and I think the Cascade 220 knits up more as a light worsted weight yarn.  If I finish all my other holiday knitting projects and can find a heavy worsted in light blue, I might knit the hat again.  But don't count on it.

In April 2010 when George's brother Mark was visiting us, I had him good through my books and pamphlets of hats to select hats for him and his wife Lizzy.  Mark said that Lizzy had had a light blue hat with bobbles that had been her favorite and she had lost it.  After going through my books, he selected "Bobbi" from Hip Knit Hats by Cathy Carron.

Last week I bought some Cascade 220 Superwash yarn in a light blue that I though Lizzy might like.

I cast on the hat on Oct 8th using the recommended size 5.5mm needles and finished the large version of the hat on Oct 9th, a full two-days of knitting.  The hat was of course big on me.  Then I washed and blocked the hat.  It grew and became lacy in appearance. 



Not a good thing in a hat meant to keep someone's head warm in winter.  I plan to rip out the hat now that it is dry and reknit it on a smaller size needle.  Let's hope that takes care of the problem.  I do have the tendency to knit some things a little loose.

Over a year ago, I came across a pattern for a stroller/carseat blanket that had sock monkey faces knitted on it.  The pattern was Sleepy Monkey Blanket by Mary Ann Stephens.


Copyright © 2009 Twist Collective

I decided to knit it for my niece Hannah.  I bought several colours I liked in Cascade 220 Superwash and cast on in February.  I knitted about an inch and then got distracted.  I started knitting on it again in September, and finished the front and back this month.  The front and back are both knitted as tubes and then cut open in a process called "steeking".

Unsteeked back outside:


Unsteeked back inside:


Now I need to steek the front and back parts, and then wet-block them before picking up stitches for the border.

I've been wanting to knit the Selbu Modern Beret, a free pattern available on Ravelry, for several months and now that cool weather has finally arrived, it was time to do so.


©2008 Kelbourne Woolens.

First I needed to decide on the yarn.  The pattern called for fingering-weight yarn also known as a 4-ply yarn.  I searched my stash on Ravelry:


and found that I had a couple of beautiful colours in Jaeger Matchmaker 4-ply. I decided I would use those for the hat.  I then swatched the two colours to see which I should use for the background colour and which for the design.


George and I both decided we liked the raspberry as background with the aqua as design better (the top half of the swatch).

Since I'm unemployed with plenty of time, it took me only 4 days to knit the hat.  I started on Sept 29th and finished Oct 2nd.  I then washed and blocked the hat on a 10" plate.  Here's a picture of the top stretched over the plate:


And here's a picture of the other side off the plate:


Through the brim opening you can see the stranded yarns.

I wore the beret to the October 5th meeting of the Seattle Knitters Guild last night, and got lots of compliments on the design and the colours I chose for it.  Now the beret will go into my stash of possible holiday gifts as it's just a little big for my tiny 20-1/2" head (the average head is 22" in circumference).  I might get George to take a picture of me wearing it and post that later.

Soakers, for those who don't know (like me before I researched them), are wool diaper covers used by parents who are using cloth diapers.  The wool soaker helps absorb moisture while keeping the baby warm.  I knitted 3 for Claire Jenning's for her daughter, Samantha, who is due in the next week or so.

I gave the first one to Claire at her baby shower.  I didn't know if she would know what it was and would even want it.  As soon as she opened the package, she showed the soaker to her mother and said it was like the ones her mother had used on her and her sister when they were babies.  She was definitely interested in receiving more of them.

First soaker (yarn colour "Mulled Wine"):


Second soaker (yarn colour "Cranberry"):


Third soaker (yarn colours "Chocolate" and "Asparagus"):


I ran out of brown on the second leg and had to finish with green.  Claire loved it, she said.  I hope she meant it.

All 3 soakers were newborn to 3 month size.

I've been busy with life and knitting. I'm now working part-time for Simply Shetland, the wholesale distributor of Jamieson's Shetland Yarns in North America as a stocking/shipping clerk. I enjoy the work. I'm surrounded by beautiful colors in luscious wool. The job involves a lot of stretching and bending which is good for my back.

Speaking of which, my old hip injury is acting up with age so I've signed up for a "Intro to Yoga" class at Yoga On Beacon http://www.yogaonbeacon.com/index.html. George got some great recommendations for them from the Beacon Hill mailing list when I had him inquire for a yoga studio that had classes for people with back problems.

In knitting news, I'm presently busy knitting baby soakers (2 done so far) for Claire Jenning's baby, who is due in May and will be named Samantha. I've also casted on a pair of gray & pink booties. Today I'm working on my first true Fair Isle knit. It's a pattern called "Autumn Tam" by Sandi Blue. The pattern is sold by Simply Shetland.

I recently obtained every pattern presently available from Simply Shetland. I figured if I'm working for the company I should help advertise it by knitting the patterns it sells with the yarn it sells. I've had the yarn for ages just sitting in my stash.

I guess that's enough random thoughts for now. Until the next time. - Emma