Nothin' But Trouble

So I started a winter hat for E, the 6-year old and he really wants something "skateboarderish" and so I think Struan by Ysolda will fit the bill. It's a great cabled hat with a small visor- super cute. Man, I'm having trouble! Nothing to do with the pattern, it's all me. First, I cannot figure out this cast-on method that she recommends for the life of me! I finally gave up on that and just cast on in the normal way- not perfect, but I think it will do. So then my next mistake was not measuring the kids' head- dumb! I just sort of assumed he was actually smaller than the smallest size (I guess I thought the pattern was written for adults or something?) So I went down a needle size. Needless so say the hat looks like a slightly (only slightly) oversize condom. Nice! Sensing this probably would not fit on his head, I decided to actually measure it. Lo and behold! The next size up in the pattern (with proper needle size!) should fit fine. Back to square one...

Meanwhile, my current "commuting project" is the Snicket Socks. This is a great free pattern by Sabine Reifler (originally posted on the now defunct Mag Knits, but now easily gotten through Ravelry). I'm using Araucania Ranco in a green colorway that shifts subtly from sort of lime green to yellow to a more grassy color- gorgeous. Socks with cables is a bit time consuming, but I'm enjoying seeing the pattern emerge.

Projects Started and Projects To Do

I just got my Webs catalog in the mail- always a fun thing to peruse. One pattern really caught my eye, the Grey Cables Jacket by Debbie Bliss (photo below). It's done with Debbie Bliss Rialto yarn and in a booklet called Ritalto Classics. Unfortunately, Webs is out of stock of the booklet, and when I went to my LYS they didn't have it either. I'll have to keep searching.

In the meantime, it's not like I really need a new project as I have several other things going, including the Tangled Yoke Cardigan and another version of the February Baby Sweater (a gift for my cousin and his wife's new baby, see photo above). I'm using some stash yarn- Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, not the best for baby clothes since it needs to be handwashed, but the color is gorgeous.
I've also cast on for the Snicket socks with a lovely Araucania Ranco yarn in a slightly varigated green colorway. I'm excited about these.

Finished Object- Turn a Square

While Jason was in Oregon having a "guys weekend" I knit up this winter hat for him. It's the Turn a Square Hat by Brooklyntweed. Its a great basic hat with raglan decreases for the top shaping- making the stripes form these cool squares on top. I used some Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky from the stash (leftover from the Urban Aran Cardigan- hey another Brooklyntweed project!) and some Noro Kuryon. I've been wanting to try Noro yarn for a while but haven't found the right project. This was a nice small one to start with. I like the stripes here, but since I used pretty neutral colors it doesn't have quite the dramatic effect as say something like this. Next up: a hat for the 6-year old and some more socks.

Great Bag!

For my birthday my mother in law Vivien made me this great shopping bag. I'm not sure what pattern she used, but its alot like this. I'm really into reusable shopping bags and so this will really come in handy. I could also see this as a great bag to throw stuff in for the beach or pool in the summer. Nice.

Finally!

I finally finished these socks for the 6-year old. This was a long time coming. The primary issue was my attempt to infuse these with a pirate vibe through a skull and crossbones intarsia design- failure! Read more about that if you wish. Finally, I decided on just some cute basic kids' socks with contrast cuff, heel, and toe. Now I am happy with them, and so is son #1. Here's another photo of him on the first day of first grade-eeks (and showing off his support to boot!)