Meanderings of an American/Irish Fiberholic

Riddler Jacket for My Nephew

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:04:26 GMT

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!

Monkey Blanket Update

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:50:00 GMT

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.

Snohomish Knitters Guild Fall Knitting Retreat

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:16:52 GMT

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:

Sock Monkey Scarf

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:52:49 GMT

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.

Bobbi Pillbox Redone

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:55:28 GMT

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.

Bobbi Pillbox

emma@thewheel.biz (Emma Bartholomew) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:08:27 GMT

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.