Pea Pod 2nd Sleeve Done!

Yay for fairly free Fridays! Well, I got a little work done late this morning- I was tech editing along when I realized I left the samples I needed in the room with the sleeping baby, and so there was a lull... and the 2nd Pea Pod sleeve is done! (The rest of that edit should be easy enough to get to finishing tonight- one more thing to check off my list!)
I'm loving working with this sport weight, it's so nice and soft... it occured to me that the only projects I've done so far with this yarn (that I can remember...) were done with the yarn doubled, which is also nice and soft, but a lot thicker and heavier. I've made 2 of the Market Vests and one of the Cropped Cardigans (one for myself is on my very urgent knits list!) and they are each worked doubled. The Market Vest is done on 6's and 7's which gives you a fairly dense and sturdy fabric. The Cropped Cardigan is done on 10's and 11's for a very different feel, a lighter fabric, but at a nice big gauge that knits up fast- and that pattern is so fast and easy, I wish I'd designed it...
At any rate, the next step on my Pea Pod is the big one- the body... knit in one piece... I'll try to cast on tonight, though if we put in a movie I don't think I'll be knitting a charted lace panel... I wonder if there are any unfinished scarves lying around that could be mindlessly worked on... I know, I have some sleeves I've been avoiding setting in...
Time to get some of my very squirrely kids off to bed-
Happy knitting,
ali

Pea Pod - 1st Sleeve Done!

My mom once told me that someone once told her (he said she said, or she said he said...) that men are like file cabinets- they can only have one drawer open at a time. It had something to do with the fact that they can't have a conversation on the phone and fill you in at the same time, it just doesn't work. Many women I know, on the other hand can talk to the in-law on the phone, fill in her husband as the conversation goes, correct children as the need arises as well as answering a half-dozen questions that are really important now that she's on the phone, throw a load of towels in the washer and make good progress with getting dinner ready or to the table, all at the very same time. It's called multi-tasking, and it's one area where many, if not most, women excel. And this was my multi-tasking for the evening. With only a few rows to go on the first sleeve of my Pea Pod sweater for my very first real KAL (knit-a-long), I wasn't going to let a wee little nursing baby impede my progress.
Ta-da! One sleeve, done. Not yet blocked, but knit unto completion. Like the little fair isle variation? I liked the green, excuse me, Avocado, too much to limit it to mere edging. I thought a few dots about midway up the sleeve would suit it quite nicely. I'm loving the color combo.
I've got a laid back Friday scheduled tomorrow so that 2nd sleeve getting done is a distinct possibility. Although, I should try to get another tech edit done in the AM and sent off before getting too distracted... work before play, at least that's what they say...
So far, so fun. The first chart (bottom rib) was easy to follow, though intimidating at first glance with that one big funky shape... and the rest of the directions for the sleeve were very straightforward, in my opinion. I am looking forward to getting to the rest of this sweater, and I'm thinking I need to expand my needle collection to make the hat as well...
That's enough for tonight, I can hear that baby having too much fun with daddy and I think I'd better get in on some of that cooing!
Happy knitting,
ali

Have Yarn, Will knit

Soon and very soon... I've got the yarn for my Pea Pod KAL, now to find some unoccupied needles.

And then to find me some time! There won't be much for the next 48 hours but I'll see what I can squeeze in...
I'll start with casting on a sleeve and work that up as my gauge swatch. I'm hoping to get gauge the first time- I'm such an impatient knitter!

You'll notice 2 yarn colors- I was googling and checking out the many blogged finished Pea Pod sweaters and came across an adorable one done with a contrasting edging. I loved it, but neglected to bookmark it... and my search today ended before I came across it again... anyway, I'm going for it!
My colors are called Grape and Avocado, and the yarn is Blue Sky's Sport Weight 100% alpaca. Did you know that alpaca fibers are 2 times warmer than wool and 7 times stronger?! I came across that tidbit of info when reading about raising a little livestock on a little hobby farm... so there ya go.
I have way too much to do before heading out in a couple of hours, but I'm hoping to just cast on my sleeve... then I'll feel like I've really started...
Happy knitting,
ali

Cool Afternoons, Warm Baby Heads

Here's a little something to show for my knitting time. I love this cotton yarn so much, and they have so many great colors, and a little hat is so fast and easy to knit up in an afternoon, that my baby just may end up with a little hat to go with almost every outfit. Okay, maybe not that many- but if there weren't several sweaters and other such sundry items on the needles as well, the 101 baby hats just might happen.

Baby hats are so gratifying- For one thing, they're quick and simple. For another thing, they go on babies, and that means they're cute, even when poorly knit! For yet another thing, they don't take much yarn, so they're easy on the budget. This also means that they make great little destashing projects. You can play with stripey color combinations you might not be adventurous enough to try in a big project like a sweater. If the combos just don't work, the regret factor is so much smaller- less yarn wasted, and fewer precious knitting hours gone as well!

And speaking of precious few knitting hours, I have a few to use today (it's Saturday!) and I need them all... and then some... so enough of the blogging... well, even if it's not enough, I need to get up and get moving- out in the fesh air even!

After all, there are patterns to edit and socks to knit.

Happy knitting to all,
ali

Only a Few More Stripes... So Far...

Well, I've gone another inch or two on my brightly striped Baby Hoodie. It's a kinda funky project to be working with all six of those balls attached at once, so I'm not carting this one around with me when I venture out and about. I'm over halfway done with the back, even though I'm making the next size up this time- I'm making the 12 month size, my babies start out big and grow fast, so this will still be worn this spring!
This is what I did cart around this weekend... I just need one more sleeve, then I can get to work on the hood... and planning the photo shoot... I'm excited about this one, I'm playing with color and texture to add some pizazz to a child's garment.

And I found the cutest little vintage buttons at the old Ben Franklin store in town. I wonder how many years they've been hanging there- the card they're on is pretty yellowed... I bought all they had, which was only 2 cards... I would've bought more if they had them! They're for a sweet little baby cardigan in the new Handspun Organic Cotton from Blue sky Alpacas. It may end up a new pattern for their fall line, so all I can show you (for now!) is the bit of stockinette stitch you see washed out before you under that card of buttons.
And then there's this little pretty... yikes, cotton is one thing, but a ball of Royal (handwound by moi, that takes way to long! saving up for a swift and winder...) should probably never be that close to a cup of coffee. I'd better drink it up fast... there, the yarn is much safer now. And I should be able to stay up at least another 20 minutes... It's the beginning of a cute little hat that will definitely be part of the fall line-up... The pattern is another by the great Bobbi IntVeld (as in the Bobbi Bear!) I spent this afternoon working on the tech edit and my sister will be happy to see a finished edit in her inbox in the morning!

So that's what's been keeping me busy, well, that and my 6 kids! One of which is currently crying for me to get her... A dear friend of mine once called her nursing baby a 'blessed interruption'. What a nice way to think of her. She's growing so fast, it won't be long before she's knitting with me and these harried days of nursing will be the stuff of fond memories...
For now, I'd better get to that baby!

Happy knitting,
ali

More Stripes on the Needles

Well, I just had to get another Baby Hoodie started once I got to thinking about it. I scrounged through one of my bins with partial balls of cotton and grabbed the first several (turned out to be 6!) brights I saw. I'm liking it so far... I've obviously changed the striping a bit, opting for some serious busy, bright, perfect for a child colorfulness, made-up word, I know. I'm using twice as many colors as called for, and skinnier stripes. I guess it's my way of personalizing the pattern.
It's all sitting on top of another project that I can't really blog about because the pattern hasn't been released yet... I'm not done writing it...
Anyway, this seems to be the usual state of my desk these days. Can anyone relate? He, he, he...
Notice the coffee? Yeah, I like to live dangerously- a big tall latte on the same surface as a boatload of yarn and 2 works in progress (one almost complete...) Ahhh, what can I say, when darling makes coffee I cannot turn it down. But really, I should put it a little further away.

I just may get out to a new-ish yarn shop tomorrow- I may pick up something to start my Pea Pod set, we'll see. I should at least pick up some fun sock yarn, or something for some slippers for my little'uns, they've been requested... here's hopin' for some good weather and a smooth morning (which would make an afternoon outing a little more feasible...)
Happy knitting,
ali

A Little Something for Little M

Several months back, while I was still pregnant with Little M, and before we knew she was probably a girl... I knit up this little striped Baby Hoodie. I figured if it was a boy I didn't want pink stripes, but a girl can get away with some blue! I had some random balls of leftover Dyed Cotton (Blue Sky, of course- if there's a softer cotton out there, I haven't come across it yet...)

Now that I know she's a girl, I should whip out another one of these with some pretty little pinks! I do love these colors, don't get me wrong... but I also have quite a growing stash of this scrumptious cotton yarn... and baby things with a gauge like this (18 sts & 24 rows=4" on size 8's) can be knit in a couple of days, even on a busy week for me...

In fact I think I'll go grab some stashed remnants right now...
ali

Close-Knit Family!

When my sister, Sylvia, told me about this, my first reaction was, "I have to blog that!" She was checking out patterns on kpixie and thought it was just so neat to see so much of our family in the pictures! If you look here (their Blue Sky Alpacas patterns listing) and scroll down a bit you'll see a girl in a teal coat sporting a lovely Keyhole Scarf- that's my sister! And her husband was the photographer for that shot. Scroll down a bit more and there's my current toddler in a bright striped Baby Hoodie, below that, my new Eyelet Cardigan, and next to that, my first published pattern- the Fitted Tank- both of those pictures feature the original garment knit with my very own two hands!
Clicking on page 2 will bring you to my 6 year old, in the upper left, wearing her Kid's Kimono, my 2nd published pattern and my first modeling child... Scroll down a little bit, and there's my toddler again, wearing the Leg Warmers my sister designed and my mom knit. Scroll down a bit more and there are the Arm Warmers that my sister designed and knit (her first published design). Down a row and to the right is the Felted Clutch that my mom designed, knit, and felted herself (she has been felting up a purse storm, watch for more from her one of these days!)
So how cool is that?!?! Well, cool enough to get me a wee bit pumped up! Fun, fun, fun! Go check it out, and while you're there, pick up a Bobbi Bear or Baby Bobbi Bear pattern, if you don't have one already, they are just the cutest little things! I need to make one soon, and I'll be sure to blog my progress, I suppose one won't be enough- I do have 6 kids...
later,
ali

Industry Buzz- See Euney Edit Interweave Knits

This just in- Eunny Jang, as in See Eunny Knit, has just been announced the new editor of Interweave Knits magazine, effective March 15th, 07. Yay, Eunny, what a dream job! Stop by her blog and give her a high-five and a 'you go girl!'
I've been going to start a pair of her Bayerische socks (free pattern, by the way, stop by and check it out) for a while now and have just had too many projects on needles already... but now I feel like I just may start a pair as a sort of 'Yay Eunny! tribute'. Now to decide on a color... that part alone could take me a while...
Anyway, while I'm deliberating about color, head over and congratulate Eunny, and then sit back with me and wait to see what effect her influence has on the magazine that is already such a driving force in the world of knitting.

(Oh, and be sure to look for the Blue Sky Alpacas ads with my little girls modeling!!!)

Aren't they precious?!
ali

Silk Shrug- Done at Last!

I did get this done last weekend- I was completely snowed in you know... nowhere to go, and nothing to do but knit. Well, okay, I always have plenty to do- I am the mother of six. I stopped after a few inches of ruffle to tend to the baby, but rest assured, I did pick it up again that very night- my ruffle made it to six inches and I proceeded to bind off all 300 of those sts! FYI- take heed to this pattern's phrase- very loosely- if you don't bind off loosely enough the fringe will not lay nicely- I had to 'unbind off' a good section of the first one I made due to my loose not being loose enough...

When finally done, this is what you're left with-

A little more detail-

And here it is opened up laying pretty much how it would lay on a body-

Maybe, if I'm real good, I'll even get a pic of me wearing this cute thing before I hand it over to be sent on its way across the country, maybe to a local yarn shop near you! I'm pretty sure it will look even better on a body than it does on the floor...

ali