A Little Knitting, A Lot of Little Man

Another finished knitting project! and less than a month late for my sister's birthday. Not too bad if I do say so myself. I finished my sister's Rusted Root. Besides some initial gauge issues, the whole project went pretty smoothly. Hopefully, my sister will find that it fits well and she enjoys wearing it. Hopefully!
I used a new yarn for this one: Berroco Comfort (Worsted Weight, 50% Super Fine Nylon/50% Super Fine Acrylic). I picked the yarn because it is machine washable and dryable and my sister is not one to want to deal with hand-washing her clothes. I hope this yarn will make this something that she will wear often without too much fuss when it comes to wash time. The yarn was okay to work with. It is made up of ten or some tiny strands which is a bit annoying. It is very easy to miss one string and then have a loose loop. Occasionally, there were broken strings as well which was annoying as it left a little "snag." I'm not sure if I would use this yarn again.


Project Details:
Pattern: Rusted Root by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Berroco Comfort (3 skeins, with 1/2-1/3 skein leftover)
Needles: Size 7 circular for body, Size 5 circular for ribbing at neck and waist, size 6 doublepoint for ribbing on sleeves
Size: XS
Modifications: I added some extra rounds in the yoke to accommodate my sister's long torso. This affected the sleeve decreases. To keep the sleeve cuffs from being too tight, I only went down one needle size instead of two. I did the shaping a bit differently too. I did some decreases to the waist and then did a few increases to try to make it a fit my sister would enjoy more. Hope it worked!

In non-knitting news, we've been having some lovely weather again so we've been outside as much as possible. Outside, my camera works since the flash isn't required so I have some new pics of John. Here he is with his latest obsession: bubbles! I splurged on some bubbles from Gymboree (we were there for a birthday party) and they are well worth the extra money. He LOVES them!


I also got John a new sunhat from Target. He immediately pulled it over his eyes and started doing the "hat dance." You have to see this one. It's hilarious! Enjoy this little movie of my little man.



Hope you all are doing well. Got to go get work cleaning my house. Hope you've had a lovely weekend!

Sunshine is my friend

Thanks to everyone for the great response to my 100th post. It was really fun to read everyone's comments. I think more people I know from non-Internet life read this post than any other in my blog history. That's a little scary, but exciting at the same time.

Spring weather has finally come to Northeast Ohio and we are spending a lot of time outdoors--despite the fact that our backyard is a mudpit from all the rain and melted snow. Sunshine is my friend and I feel happier after just a few days of it. We went to the park on Saturday and John has gotten a lot more independent since last fall. He went down some of the big slides without even a pause. Very exciting!

Anyway, John and I are home alone this week while Brian travels to Portland, Oregon to see his sister and Olympia, Washington for a job interview. Brian left Sunday morning and returns Thursday around 8PM. It's the longest he's been out of town since John was born, but so far so good. The hardest part is that John has no concept of days of the week so to tell him that he will see Daddy on Friday does no good. Oh well. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to make myself go to bed early so I'm well rested. With this pregnancy, if I get tired, I start feeling sick--and with Brian gone I do not have the luxury of resting on the sofa in the evening if I'm feeling gross.

Despite my early bedtimes and lack of time to myself during the day, I'm still getting some knitting done. I finished the sweater for my next little guy. It's a one year old size since he's due right when the weather should be getting nice. I figure this way he should be able to wear it next fall, winter and spring.

The pattern was a new one for me, but one I really enjoyed: Kid's Top-down Raglan by Gail Tanquary (published by Ann Norling: Pattern #53). I generally like raglan styles because the sleeves are knit onto the yoke and not added later. I also liked the flexibility of this pattern. It gives the directions for sizes 1-12 in 4 different gauges (3.5, 4.5, 5, 5.5 st/in). It also includes directions for both cardigans and pullovers and for both crewnecks and v-necks. Talk about flexibility! Sleeves can be knit flat or in the round. Anyway, I will definitely do this pattern again. In fact, I already have the yarn to make John a rainbow cardigan using this pattern.

This pattern has you pick up stitches to add the neckband and button band after the rest of the sweater is done. That was a first for me, but I enjoyed it. Picking up the stitches was pretty easy and it was great to not have to worry about button hole placement while knitting the rest of the sweater. It definitely made the rest of the sweater go faster. Plus, I didn't like my first set of buttonholes (I used a YO-k2tog and they were too big), so I very easily undid that part of the buttonband and redid them (using a BO 1 stitch, and then kfb the next row).

My only other commentary on this pattern is that if you are a beginner, you might need a little support. The pattern writer assumes that you have some knitting experience. For example, there are no instructions on what type of increases to use or how to make the buttonholes.

Sweater details (on Ravelry):

Pattern: Kid's Top-down Raglan by Gail Tanquary (Ann Norling #53)

Pattern Style I used: Crewneck Cardigan

Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Little Lehigh Pebbles (45% Cotton/55% Acrylic) (3.5 oz/approx. 250yd)

I used about 1 1/2 skeins.

Gauge (for me): 5 stitches/inch on Size 6 needles

Needles: Size 6 and Size 4 (24" circular)

Buttons: from JoAnn's

I'm also making progress on my sister's Rusted Root. I just hope the shaping turns out to be a good fit. Keep your fingers crossed that I keep the good knitting karma going on this one. I really want it to fit my sister well so she really enjoys it!

In other news, John continues to grow up before my eyes. He's doing great sleeping in his big boy bed although we are not making any progress on potty training. He was asking to pee in the potty once or twice a day, but after our week in Virginia he seemed to loose all interest. As he just turned 2, I'm not concerned. But it would have been nice to get this done before his baby brother arrived. Oh well. Double diaper duty it will be.

John's birthday present from us is a set of 4 simple, 12-piece jigsaw puzzles. He really likes them and can already do all four on his own. A few days ago, he dumped out the box and had all 48 pieces piled together on the floor. I left the room and when I came back, he had one of the puzzles finished. Then I left and came back again and he had another one done. I took this picture:

Eventually he got all 4 puzzles done on his own. My favorite part is that they keep him entertained while I actually get something done. Crazy! Life is good.

Hope you all are doing well. Have a great week!

Knitting: Take the Bad with the Good

First, the GOOD. Earlier this week, I got a little care package in the mail. Julie thought I could use a little pick me up and what could make me happier than this:

A package of knitting yumminess. Julie sent me The Opinionated Knitter so I can come to love and appreciate the genius of Elizabeth Zimmermann. She also sent me some yummies from her stash. Including my first sock yarn (Socks That Rock in Bella Coola), my first Malabrigo (in a very delicious apple green), my first alpaca (Classic Elite Inca Alpaca) and some delicious Egyptian Cotton (Classic Elite Province). I've been instructed that the STR MUST be made into a Baby Surprise Jacket. I only hope mine will turn out as beautifully as Julie's BSJs. Needless to say, this package made me VERY happy. Thank you, sweet Julie! And if anyone has any suggestions for what I should make with the rest of this yarn, please pass them on.

Now, the BAD. Although it's not SO bad. I've decided to make a Rusted Root for my twin sister, Cat. Our birthday is on the 27th. As most of you know, when I made my Rusted Root, it was ill-fated and I frogged many an attempt before I got the sizing right. I was not concerned about making another one because I had mine to use as a guide. For it to fit my sister, I just need to add a little more length in the raglan and some length at the bottom (my sister is about an inch taller than me). My sister wanted one "just like mine." But my knit shop went out of business and the next one I found did not carry that yarn. I found a different yarn that was a similar color, but machine-washable and decided it was a better fit for my sister. (She is not one to hand wash things.) Anyway, I foolishly cast on without checking gauge. After about 30 rows, I realized that the new Rusted Root was knitting up way too small.

I decided to try one needle size up, after about 11 rows, it seemed a bit too small. So I decided to try the next row up, it seemed perfect at first, but after about 25 rows I realized it was now too BIG. So I'm back to the middle size. I wanted to finish the whole thing before I went home for Easter, but I'm too worried about fit. So I'm just going to knit through the raglan and then let me sister try it on while I'm home for Easter. Normally, I would just try it on myself, but with less than 3 months to go in this pregnancy, I don't think I'm shaped much like my sister these days. Oh well. Here's hoping that the knitting goddess/god/fairy somehow finds her way to me and that this Rusted Root fits my sister.

Hope you all are doing well. Happy knitting! and have a good weekend!

Top Ten Tuesday: Rusted Root Edition

I can't believe it's Tuesday already. It was a fun three day weekend with Brian and our little man. We had beautiful weather and spent lots of time at various parks in the area. I also got some good naptime knitting done and finally finished my Rusted Root. Details on the finished project are at the end of this post. I couldn't wait to show it off so I took some pictures of myself and Brian took some of me as well. I needed a Top Ten Tuesday topic so I cheated and this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is:

Top Ten Pictures of My Finished Rusted Root

10. Full-length mirror shot

9. Self-taken shot with Little Man (not the best of either of us--got to love the double chin)

8. First shot by Brian--Little Man tries to escape
7. Detail of ribbing and lace (love the way the purls and knits lined up)


6. Trying to not feel self conscious (hands are down for Little Man)

5. Action shot (pushing Little Man on the swing)

4. Timer shot-lace panel (trying to suck in my stomach)
3. Timer shot--full view (trying to seem relaxed)

2. Oval mirror shot (love this little antique mirror)

1. Little Man and I (good one for the album)


Pattern: Rusted Root by Zephyr style

Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel (less than 5 skeins for XS)

Needles: Size 4 and 6 (24" circular) and size 6 doublepoint

Adaptations: I had to play around a little to get the right size. I ended up doing the XS, but added a few extra rows in the raglan. I also had to add a few stitches in the sleeves and ended up doing the sleeve ribbing in a size 6 instead of a size 4 so the cuffs weren't too tight. The pattern called for 12 rows of ribbing on the bottom, but I only did 8 because I didn't want a huge band of ribbing.

Sorry for the unexciting Top Ten Tuesday topic. But, hey, I finished my Rusted Root before winter! I can actually wear it for a few weeks! I still need to block it, but it is otherwise ready to go. Any suggestions for blocking Pima Tencel?

Socks! Socks! Socks!

Warning: Pictures Totally Unrelated to Post

I seem to be commenting a lot about socks these days so I decided to do a new post about them. Since I started blogging, I seem to be constantly surrounded by sock knitters. Everywhere I look--socks, socks and more socks. I, as a knitter, had never been tempted to knit socks. I didn't know anyone personally who knits socks (although I didn't know any knitters except my mom, an older former co-worker and a few girls I taught how to knit). And even when I began to be surrounded by sock after beautiful sock, I was not tempted by the sock.



However, the sock gave me a different feeling, inferiority. Suddenly, I began to feel like less of a knitter because I don't knit socks. I felt that somehow my knitting skills (which have grown quite a bit in my few self-taught knitting years) were less "real" than the abilities to do toe-up socks and toe-down socks and socks with picot edges and gusset heels. I don't even know what a gusset heel is. I felt like less of a knitter because I've never seen (in real life), much less touched or used, Koigu or STR or Shibui.




I just read on Kathy's blog about her similar feelings about sweaters. It was nice to hear that I'm not the only one who gets Knitting Inferiority Complex. Apparently, KIC is more rampant than I originally thought because I also read this post by Maritza. Anyway, I've decided to follow Kathy's suit and be undaunted by my non-sock-knitting status.




There's only one problem...now I've seen the sock that has tempted me to knit socks. I saw these socks by Megan. More specifically I saw her Lemongrass Pomatomus Almost Kneehighs in STR Mediumweight in Lemongrass (the yellowy-green one in the upper righthand corner of Megan's sock picture). The sock in the Pomatomus pattern did not so appeal to me, but when put into this lovely Lemongrass, the intricate pattern is showcased in such a lovely way. I want some. I want them to be knee highs. Maybe in a lovely warm gray or gray blue or something more funky like this or this. I don't know, but someday I want them.




But that day is not now. For now, my yarn budget is at $0. Because due to uncontrollable circumstances, we may possibly be without our main income sometime in the not-so-distant future. Until there is a certain beer on the market, our little household may be surviving off of my sad little sporadic paychecks and our savings. It should be doable, but it will not be pretty. No money for fun extras like sock yarn or any yarn for that matter. As there is no lovely sock yarn in my stash (none of this or this or this or this), then I will continue being a non-sock knitter for now. But someday I'm going to knit those knee high Pomatomuses and I'm going to love them.

Monday, Monday!

It's Monday and life is a bit hectic and crazy and possibly spinning out of control right now, but I don't feel like getting into that. So here is some happy news: I think I finally got a decent fit on my Rusted Root. I'm doing the XS, but added some extra rows in the raglan. It's not perfect, but I think I will wear it and enjoy it. Here's my progress as of Saturday... (Please excuse the night time/no flash photo.)

And as of Sunday... It's coming along!

And Little Man continues to learn new tricks.

Yes, those are yogurt cups that he is expertly balancing on his toes. Very nice, huh? Yes, America's Got Talent, here we come!

Knitting and my little man--two things I can guarantee will eventually make me smile. Hope you're having a smiling day!

Fast Like a Band-aid

It's done. I tried to do it fast to make it as painless as possible. Tonight I restart the Rusted Root. Hey, third time's the charm, right?

Size Dilemma (or Do I Rip Again?)

So here's my second attempt at the Rusted Root. This time I decided to try the Small size.

What do you think? I think it might be too big. I originally tried the XS.

I generally liked the way the XS looked, but it felt too snug through the pits and I was afraid the sleeves would be too tight.

What do you think?

I'm thinking maybe I should rip again and go back to the XS, but add a few extra rounds in the raglan. Do you think that would work? What do you think about the two fits? I just don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated!

Does "Rusted" Mean "Ill-fated"?

I am having the worst time with my Rusted Root. I love the yarn I'm using (Cascade Pima Tencel) and I like the pattern, but I just can't seem to get it right.

My yarn before it was knitted and ripped a few times.

At first, I was making a few mistakes with the lace pattern. My eye kept jumping from Row 3 to Row 5 instructions and I would skip a YO. Then the XS ended up being too tight in the armpits (too short in the raglan and not enough stitches on the sleeve).

My first attempt (too small) before my first ripping

So I frogged my first attempt (all 56 rows of it) and started over making the S size. This time I remedied the lace issue by writing each odd row of the lace pattern on a separate notecard. This way I'm only looking at the row I need. The lace looks much better this time around.

My lace on my second attempt

One thing I liked about doing the XS is that I didn't have to circle any numbers on the pattern, I just did the first one. So when I started the S, I circled a few numbers and was on my way. I was so excited when I finished the first 28 rows because that meant I got to start doing some sleeve shaping. However, the sleeve decreases seemed to be off in terms of their placement on the sleeve. I was a little befuddled. Then I realized that I am a big idiot! I had followed the stitch numbers for the S size, but had failed to follow the row numbers for the S size. For a small, you're supposed to do 36 rows before beginning the sleeve shaping. Duh! This is needed to make the raglan longer. Can I say it again? Duh!

So I had to rip back (only 4 or 5 rows), but it took forever because I was only ripping a few rows. It really put a damper on my progress and kept me up an extra hour and a half as I tried to make sure I didn't do anything stupid while ripping. Big sigh. Oh well, such is life.

My Rusted Root now after a second ripping

I think part of my problem is that I decided to make a summer top in August. So I'm rushing to get it done so I can wear it before it gets too cold. Must slow down and think!

On a happier note, I'm still working away on my Wallaby for my younger nephew. It's almost ready for sleeves.

But the partying was great!

Birthdays! Birthdays! Everywhere, birthdays! My oldest nephew's 4th birthday is on Monday and his birthday party was this weekend. My sister throws a mean birthday party!


There was visor decorating




and dinosaur painting.

My sister drew this scene. Pretty impressive, huh?

My niece took the "finger" paints to heart. No brushes for her!

There was a scavenger hunt!

There were parachute games!



And two delicious cakes! One made by my brother-in-law:

And one made by the birthday boy himself:

All in all, it was a great time for everyone. Exhausting, but fun!

I've also been working on my Rusted Root and I have my first WIP picture:

As you can see, I've made good progress. I finally remembered that knitting from the top down meant that I could try it on. It fit great, except for right here:

Sorry for the gross armpit shot, but that's where the problem was. Too tight! I was crushed. I contemplated different options and have just decided to frog and try the next size up. I was right on the line between XS and S and had decided to make the XS. We'll see how the S fits. Hopefully, it won't be too loose. Wish me strength in my frogging! I never realized how much it hurts to frog! Luckily this yarn (Cascade Pima Tencel) has a nice smoothness to it so it shouldn't be too bad.

So not a good knitting weekend, but the partying was great!