Finished Object Catch-Up

I realized, when posting about the Diamond Seed Baby Jacket, than I had some other FOs that I hadn't mentioned here on the blog yet, and some I hadn't added to the FO page.

Recently two friends of mine had babies, and I thought hats would be good gifts, so I hit my copy of Itty Bitty Hats, and made this:

It's the Rainbow Marley, and details are here.

I thought it was so cute I had to make another one. The second one looks like this:

I thought they turned out really nicely, and I enjoyed making them.

This book is one that I didn't love at first, but it's grown on me, and I couldn't go without it now.

I'm Not Perfect?

Everybody's favorite, right? Blocking pictures!

I really do love this part. If you asked me while I was in the middle of pinning and measuring and stretching and adjusting, I'd tell you I hate it. But it's maybe my favorite phase of a project. It's where everything is made perfect and flat and ready for finishing. The end is near. The tedium is over. It's almost as exciting as starting the project.

Unless it goes as well as this project's blocking did.

It started just like any other blocking does. I assembled my blocking board and protective plastic tarp. I found the Altoids box of pins. I made sure the pattern included a good schematic. I wetted the pieces and rolled the excess water out in a towel. I laid the largest piece out on the grid and pinned the left edge down.

Then I counted out the specified width on the blocking board grid, and found it was at least two inches shy of the actual width of the piece.

Now, I'm certainly an experienced blocker, and I know that the whole point of blocking it to make the piece stretch and contract into its prescribed shape and size. But two inches (at least!) too wide was more than I felt I could smoosh into place. I fudged it and made a compromise between the schematic and the sweater, and did the best I could. It looked ok in the end. (See above) So the twins will not wear the sweater this fall, or next spring, but instead to their first day of kindergarten, so what?

I blamed myself.

I didn't wash my swatch. And I knew that superwash wool would stretch out. I just didn't bother to use that knowledge. If the sweater buckled and stretched when it was washed because the pieces didn't fit together right, it would be because I didn't take the time to do it right. Should I re-knit it?

When I got home from work today I unpinned the main piece and folded it into its future sweater shape.

See anything wrong?


How about if I do this?

The seed stitch button plackets should overlap and align. Everything else aligns -- the shoulders, the arm scyes. The stitch pattern doesn't seem to be stretched out there in the front. What's going on? How could only the fronts be too wide and not the back? This is not a gauge issue anymore.

So I went back to the schematic, and I checked it with a calculator against the prescribed gauge. I checked the back width against the front width, and indeed, if following the directions, which I did, you will get a two inch overlap in the front instead of the 3/4" overlap you need. The schematic doesn't actually correspond to the measurements you get when calculating with the gauge. Metric too. Both are wonky. Wonky galore. Interweave has no corrections to this pattern either.

So now what? I'm not sure how much it matters. When a child is actually wearing this sweater, will it matter that it overlaps too much when flat? I'm not convinced that it's worth cutting and sewing, and I'm definitely not convinced it's worth the time to re-design and re-knit.

I'm going to search the Internet for others who have made this pattern and see how it worked for them. In the meantime, I fully expect you to bestow on me the fullness of your wisdom. Please.

[Update: The finished Diamond Seed Baby Jackets I found around the Internets probably weren't blocked. That's all I have to say about that.

I'm re-blocking it to my calculated measurements, plus some adjustments to make the back wider. Stretch, smoosh, stretch, smoosh, pat, pat, pat.]

Just an Update

I've finished the fronts/back of the Diamond Seed Baby Jacket:
Now that it's off the needles and I can lay it out flat it looks so nice. Anyone else just love to lay it out flat and see how it looks all square and perfect? I guess it's kind of like lace but not so drastic; on the needles - all bunchy, off the needles - all perfect.

I also started a new sock, the Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave a while back:

I'm using the tencel blend from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm I got at Stitches Midwest last year. I'm really enjoying both the pattern and the yarn. It's going very quickly. I do so love a pattern that shows obvious progress, and this one is so beautiful.

Notes: The pattern has a specified cast on to use, and I found it to be a bit tight, but I liked it otherwise. It has three rows, and to make it looser I used a size 3 for the first row, then size 2 for the next two rows before going down to 1.5s for the sock. I also added an extra purl between the motifs, adding four stitches overall. It seems to have worked well. Sometimes using a larger needle on the cast on works and sometimes it doesn't depending on the cast on; it worked very well with this one.

Speaking of Interweave and socks, has anyone seen their new sock book? I haven't, and I thought I'd get it sight-unseen, but I did see the pictures at Amazon, and of the seven, two I don't like, one I'd probably never do, and two I've already made or am making now. I've had a subscription to Interweave for what, three years now? And I bought every issue before that for a year or two? So I already have a lot of Interweave's sock patterns. I thought it'd be nice to have them all in one place, but if I've already made the ones I like in the book, I don't think I'll be buying it, even though buying new Interweave books gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Babies, a Sock, and Le Creuset

First, some gratuitous baby shots:


On the left is my niece, and on the right is my dad and his grandson. His grandson/my nephew is having a hard time coming off the narcotics; please send some good thoughts in the general direction of Seattle.

I finished the first of the "Lichen Ribbed Socks" from Knitting Vintage Socks. I lurve it. It's very pretty and it was fun to try some new techniques. The heel is a "Welsh" heel and the toe is a "Star" toe. I don't think I'll choose the Star toe in the future, but it's fun to try new things.


And this is my birthday present from my sister:
Isn't it purty? It wasn't on my list, but my sister knows me well, and I'm always happy with quality cookware. She could have gotten the regular round 2-qt. casserole and I would have enjoyed that too, but how much do you love the heart shape? I can't wait to use it. I haven't decided what to make in it yet, but the possibilities are endless. She got me a cookbook to go with it, for Christmas, so I'll probably inaugurate them together. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I'd better decide soon.

We're Ready For You, Babies!

Any time you feel like being born, you just go right ahead, little babies, because Auntie Beff (as I'm known to the under-five contingent) is done with your blanket. Well, ok, only one blanket is done, and there are others in progress or planning, but please do not wait until another one, or dog forbid, both of them, is done. Your mother will pop before that happens.


Seriously.

The party's over. Everybody out of the pool.

ps. The pattern and yarn are from Lion Brand. The pattern cost a whopping $.99, and it was a lot of fun. Full disclosure will come eventually in my Finished Objects Gallery.

Baby Hats

My pregnant sister is on bed-rest, and I've been making little baby things for her.

This first hat is nade with Paton's Grace, and is probably a bit big for a newborn, but babies grow.

With this hat I learned that gathering the top doesn't work as well with cotton. I really had to pull hard and there was still an opening. And yes, I did some decreases prior.

This hat I made with some leftover sock yarn; It's Step, the yarn with aloe vera and jojoba oil impregnated into the yarn.

I used it to make socks for my voice teacher, who said they were really soft and got softer with washing. It's more baby sized.

90 Days Out

This past Tuesday was my three month "anniversary" at work. Can you believe it's been three months already? I can't. What I really can't believe is that I still want to do the Happy Dance when I think about how much I love my job. I mean, they still have to pay me to show up, but I don't dread it, and I feel like I'm learning a lot and getting a lot done. On Tuesday I also had my 90-day review, which was about as glowing as a 90-day review can be. As I reflect on the past ninety days, and the first ninety days at my last job, I can only remark that I have not once been made to cry this time. I'm very appreciative of that fact.

**Spoiler for Jennifer ahead**

Jennifer, if you're out there reading this and don't want to ruin the surprise, then don't scroll down, just close the window. On the other hand, if you want to see what I'm working on, you go right ahead. It's your call.

I wasn't going to document any baby stuff for my sister until she had received it, but I stumbled upon the cutest pattern, and I'm really enjoying working on it, so I can't help but share. This will probably jinx it; by documenting it I'm practically guaranteeing that I'll never work on this again. ;)

Here is the link to the pattern. It's from Lion Brand, and it costs a whopping $.99, and you can download it. I was looking for baby sweater patterns, and thought this blanket looked cute, but couldn't tell much about it. I thought $.99 was a small price to pay to satisfy my curiosity, and I'm so glad I did.


As you can see, I've completed three squares (out of twelve). The pattern says to bind off and then sew them all together, but I'm doing a three-needle bind off as I go. This involves quite a bit of stitch-holding, but I'll figure that out as I go.

I'm using Lion Brand BabySoft, but not in the colors called for in the pattern. (I think I'm allergic to pastels.) I could find the blue, purple, pink and white in local stores, but had to order the green and yellow. In fact, the green I could find at several websites, but the yellow I could only get from Lion itself. So yes, I paid way more than I could have, but I am very happy with my color choices, and it makes it a lot more fun to work on. The needles are also Lion brand double-pointed, so the acrylic-on-plastic squeak isn't that pleasant; anything that can make it better is a Good Thing.