A Bit of a Knitting Update

I finally finished the baby blanket (for the newest grandnephew). I've been working on it for ages - mainly because other projects kept taking priority. I started it last July, and finally gave it top billing in January. Somewhere in January, I made a horrible discovery: an ink pen in my knitting bag had leaked, and there was a dark ink stain on the blanket. I spent some time trying to deal with the stain - soaking, blotting, using Shout, washing that part of the blanket in the sink. I finally just decided to ignore the stain for the time being, and finished the knitting.

This weekend, I used Shout again, let it sit for awhile, and washed it in the machine. I repeated this several times, and it seemed to reduce the stain. Then, I used the same yarn and duplicate stitched several of the stained stitches, which also helped make the stain less obvious.

The above picture was taken after all these stain-ameliorating efforts. I know where the stain is, but hopefully it is less obvious to others.

Here's a 'before' photo. All things considered, I think the blanket ended up looking okay. And, if nothing else, I'm comparing it to the first dent of a new car; now baby J can feel free to spit up on the blanket, without any qualms!

This pattern is the Cradle Me blanket, by Anne Hanson.

With that project wrapped up, I've begun work on the Nutmeg Bear, by Amanda Berry. I think this is a delightful little guy.

This is the photo from Amanda's pattern.

This is pretty much what my bear looks like right now. The yarn is Hillside Linen, by Plymouth Earth, a blend of alpaca and linen. I like the 'scruffy' look of the yarn. I started knitting the bear while watching the Super Bowl; I hope that isn't bad karma! (He has one paw so far.)

Save the Children and the Warm Up America! Foundation are collecting caps for newborn babies. I finished this cap in an evening (they are very simple to knit), and last Saturday helped several other women learn to knit them. The project is part of an effort to improve infant care in Africa, Asia, and South America. In addition to collecting caps, they also advocate and fundraise to provide newborn care in these developing countries. For more info, see www.goodgoes.org.

Bonnie & I had a delightful walk today - it was a sunny 33 degrees, and except for the sidewalk's hiding ice under a thin coat of snow, we enjoyed ourselves.

Bonnie doing what Bonnie does best: checking out smells.

Looking north, as we cross through the park.

On and Off the Needles

Recently, a friend asked if I would knit something for her. What she had in mind was not particularly large, or difficult to knit, but I declined. I have a loosely defined goal to knit something for every member of my extended family. (Now that I've posted that in my blog, I suppose it is no longer "loosely defined.") I just made a list, and I have some 28 family gifts to knit. These have to be gifts that I enjoy knitting, and that I think the recipient will enjoy, so I don't churn them out; they take time. (For that number of projects, and this particular knitter, probably years...!) And of course, I occasionally knit for myself (really!), and for charity, and for the odd non-family occasion...

Meanwhile, here are some photos of one recently finished project, and several that I'm working on.

This wrap-me-up pup was knit for one of my nieces (she chose the colors). The pattern is from the book Itty Bitty Toys, by Susan B Anderson.

The toys in this book are Simply Adorable. But, let me just say that if you use this pattern (or any in this book, I suppose), be sure to review the errata. And, be sure to read through the pattern completely. When I made the blanket, I bound off, keeping my needle in the last stitch, as per the instructions. Then, I looked at the instructions about choosing between the knitted and crocheted edging, and read "for the knitted edging, don't bind off." Grrr. I know, I know - I should know better...

This was not hard to knit, but it did require making small pieces and sewing them together. This apparently is not my forte, as the legs and tail languished unattached for an inordinate amount of time. Finally, when I hosted knitting night, I vowed to tackle and finish the pup - and I easily did, that very evening.

The next stuffed animal I'll be knitting is an elephant, designed by Ysolda Teague. There are no seams with this one - you knit and stuff the head first, then pick up stitches for the body, and for each of the legs and arms - so when I'm finished knitting, I should be Finished. Clearly, this will be a good thing for me.

I plan to start this one as soon as I post this blog. Then I'll be able to share a picture that's  more than just yarn...

This is a sweater I knit for myself. You may think that it looks finished, but you would be wrong. See how the sleeves have a nice little roll at the wrists? This is good. See how the sweater has an out-of-control roll at the waist? Not so good.

(It may not look out-of-control in this photo, but it is. Trust me.)

I made this in a class at Stitching Memories, and Lu (who taught the class) suggested that when I block it, it won't roll that much. So I'm going to block it, but even then, I think I made it a bit too short. (This was in an effort not to make it too long.) Plus, I think maybe I need it to be a bit wider at the bottom. So I will probably rip some of it back, reknit it with some increasing on the sides, make it a tad longer, and then see how it looks.

None of that, of course, is the kind of knitting that I really enjoy. But I do want to actually wear this sweater, so I'll do the reknit anyway. That's because I'm a Mature Grown-Up Person.

I love this blanket, which is designed by Anne Hanson. The color in this picture is awful - the yarn is really a very lovely green - but at least you can see the stitch design. I have to pay attention while I knit this, since each row uses different combinations of knits and purls and yarn-overs and knit-togethers. I call this my Tortoise project: it goes slowly, but I am steadily making progress.

The Kalamazoo Knitting Guild recently sponsored a class on double knitting. This is very cool knitting, but it is also Tortoise knitting. Basically, I'm knitting two hats at once - of course, it will end up being just one hat, with a double thickness. The mainly blue part is the outside of the hat; the beige is the inside of the hat. The design is formed by switching which yarn gets pulled to the front, and when. We spent a day figuring this out, so don't worry that it makes no sense. Just believe me - it is very cool knitting, and the hat should be very warm. And reversible!

This is my project for knitting in the car, and while waiting wherever it is that one waits (restaurants, offices, meetings). It is a very simple hat, but the detail makes it interesting. I'm afraid this picture doesn't do it justice; hopefully I can get a better shot when it is finished.