KnittingNatty

Tychus for my little tyke

A quick knit, a great stash buster, definitely do-again.

Here's how it looked as the pattern was written:

What? Tychus

Yarn? Yes, please. No, JK. Umm, some Jo Sharp left over from Ian's train jumper in blue and some 8 ply in "Flannel" from Bendigo Woollen Mills, borrowed from Jo Sharp "Laurel Hill" project. There is no way I will need all the yarn I bought.

Modifications? I made the rows shorter so that it would be boy sized and not "large man" sized. The short rows varied between 12 - 20 sts or so. I used 8 ply (DK) weight yarn, and a 4.5mm needle, and the fabric came out firm but not too stiff. All the same I would not want to churn out heaps of these in a row cause the hands would hurt!

I added the icord to make it more whimsical and boyish, threading teh icord through the gaps left by not wrapping my stitches before turning the work. I would have left it at that, but Ian insisted on the "rocket button", centre front.

And a gratuitous pic of my little tyke. Just 'cause.

Adventure socks

The first of Ian's socks went for a little adventure. We still don't know exactly what happened to it, but I couldn't recall seeing it for a couple of days, and asked the Hubster if he had seen it. You see, I had used a random pattern (oxymoron? - you be the judge) of purple, pink and yellow (DS's terms of reference) and I needed the first sock to create the second one to match. The Hubster, in a tone which trailed away into the air, reported seeing a child's sock up the street at the next intersection that looked like a child's sock...

So, after the kids were in bed that night (nothing like being in a hurry, now, is there!) he walked up to the corner and there it was, bereft and alone, just lying there, lamely: now slightly dirty and a little faded but otherwise none the worse for wear, so to speak. Whether it was carried away on the wind; or dropped by our dear son whilst out in the stroller; or some other happenstance, I don't think we will ever really know what sights the sock saw or conversations it overheard whilst loitering on the verge of a public thoroughfare.

The socks don't quite match colourwise now, but then again I haven't tried to wash the first sock too fastidiously yet to get the colour back.

Specs:
Pattern: my own - 45 stitches on 1.5 mm DPNs, random striping. I used a heel flap over 23 sts, decreased every round back to 45 sts, and id my ordinary pointy toe.
Yarn: Left over Lornas Laces "Iris garden" for the pink; Opal self striping; and a solid purple Opal sock yarn. I bought the Opal yarns from the Bead and Opal Queen

The only question which remains is how our DS willl reflect on his mother's abilities to dress him appropriately when he turns 21. Goodness knows, I have kept photos of myself which provide evidence of this kind. I will have to remind him that he asked for it. Hehehe. He wore them to bed last night. Awww.

Conversation with my son

Ian had a stomach virus a couple of days ago, and he was vomiting every couple of hours. Whilst resting on the sofa, we had a conversation, which went like this

Son: "Will Caitlyn ever get too big for my jumper?" (the train one just completed)

Me: "Yes, she will one day,"

Son: "And I'll be too big for my jumper?"

Me: "Yes; but I'll make you another one, each time you get bigger, until your jumper is as big as Dad's," (holding arms out really wide)

Son: (eyes light up, smiles very widely) "Really? With trains on it?"

What else can a Mum do when she has a conversation like this? Hope like hell he always wants to wear the jumpers that Mum makes, realising that he probably won't. And cast on a pair of socks for him.

Slave driver part 2

A photo I omitted from the last post because it was taking forever to upload. Seems Typepad had a hiccup, but its all sorted out now (let's hope).

The front, train motif (the wheels will be added later in the form of buttons):

I have now cast on for the front, and am waiting a quiet moment to start the homestyle DIY intarsia...

I'm knitting as fast as I can!

My DS aged 3, has requested I knit him a jumper. He's proving to be quite a slave driver!

I already had the yarn for this project in my stash, since a year ago. But I was planning on knitting it in a size 4 anyway, even then. Since Tuesday just gone, I have completed the sleeves.

And now I remember why I dislike intarsia colour knitting so much. Oh, Mr Hart, what a mess!

Only, its me who made it intarsia, because the pattern calls for the motifs to be embroidered on afterwards. Now my duplicate stitch sucks long and hard, so its a cross between intarsia and fair isle an approximation of fair isle. Now I understand why there is no such thing as true intarsia in the round, cause when you want to pick up your contrasting colour, the strand has to be on the correct side of the motif. Like it was going anywhere, with me in the driver's seat!

Ah, that's better. Wanna see the back? Everyone always wants to see the back!

Always the worst of all possible worlds, children's picture knitting. Except that its small and will be over quickly;)

Casting on doesn't hurt

its the finishing up that takes the time!

Now that my visitors have all gone home (sniff!) let's see where my knitting is up to. Lets start with the workspace.

Always overflowing, I think I may have reached the outer limits of what is possible to have on one's knitting plate at the one time without actually forgetting what all the WIPs are. So let's document them for posterity. Foolish or audacious in my casting on ambitions? You be the judge

Lets start with the new stuff.

1. Baby blankie squares. Two down, 14 to go. Pur-ty pur-ty. Deadline involved.

2. A new jumper for Master Ian, I am starting with both the sleeves at once. He is very excited that I am knitting this and keeps asking me to knit some more through the day, which is wonderful. Pressure from the recipient, and he's growing fast, so that's a kinda deadline in itself.

Onto the socks. No deadlines here.

3. One pattern repeat of sock number 2, Embossed Leaves

4. The first Jaywalker. I think it may have rolled over since you saw it last.

5. The yarn that is to be used for the Hubster's second sock. Currently flying under the radar.

And the projects languishing, for the moment, under the weight of all that other yarn

6. The cotton lace cardi from 1000 sweaters; and

7. Laurel Hill, first panel, front or back, I don't think it matters yet.

I am feeling self imposed pressure to complete something. Anything. Just make it soon. How many WIPs is too many for you?

Embroidery thread

Who would have thought that Anchor would make an embroidery thread  that matches perfectly with the laceweight yarn I have run out of? Check it out!

(sorry, over exposed)

And who among you would have thought that the Russian join would work despite the lack of twist in the embroidery yarn? (It does - I bought 8 skeins of thread to be sure to have enough to cast off, and in the end I used 5 - that's lots of joins to make to be sure!)

And what does the end result look like? See for yourself!

Mutter, mutter, something about working with children and animals

It's way too big - this cannot be 12 months size!

Oh, well - I'll put it away until she grows a bit more.

Pattern: Patons "More Mischief" (Pictured on the cover)  bought circa 1997
Yarn: Sample skein sent by Danielle at Nonokitty yarns, linen/cotton blend from memory; balance yarn Anchor embroidery thread col no 1037. This was a happy union, with russian joins abounding. See above. A much better result than I could have wished for in my wildest dreams.

Notes: I have made this hat before in 6 mo size (gifted, and now lost to the mists of time obviously), and used the motif sucessfully on a pair of little girls socks (also gifted, no photo). I still find the "busy" rows of lace (and you know who you are) to require lots of concentration. It fits like shit. A little baggy around the crown. Sizing is so often an issue in children's patterns, huh!

All in all, I love this pattern so that's why I have repeated it for my little chicken. Must sew a name tag in straight away before she can throw it over the side of the stroller without my noticing...

Has my son been listening to Ms Hanson?

I finished DS Ian's jumper.

I said to him triumphantly this morning "How do you like your new jumper?" and he said definitively "I don't like it".

Sigh.

He's going to wear it anyway. Because. I. Said. So. And. I'm. the. Mummy. BOSS.

Postscript

I said to DH tonight as he picked up the newly finished jumper "It's finished now, you can put it in Ian's room please".

DH - "Oh, so you have tucked in all the ends?"

Me - "Yes"

DH - "Have you blogged it?"

Me - "Umm no, not yet, the camera batteries were flat this morning"

DH - "Then its not finished yet"

I had to reluctantly concur.

has it been that long already?

Mwaaaa-aaah!

Caitie is proving to be unsettled, but (frustratingly) capable of whole 12 - 18 hour stretches of almost uninterrupted daytime/ socially acceptable hours sleep. Our days / nights are punctuated by bouts of grunting and crying. She is interested in her surroundings when settled and awake, and looks directly at us more than her brother did at her age. She is growing more beautiful every day, and her bouts of wind, Katt, are providing a glimpse of what will surely be an engaging smile. ;)

I'm sure that her unsettledness is just par for the course at this point in time. I have gotten so used to her being a part of our lives in such a short space of time that it seems that she has been with us forever, not just 2 weeks. Maybe that's the (predictable) sleep deprivation talking.

Interestingly, the photos of the 2 kids in hospital show them to be almost identical, except DS Ian has lighter coloured hair. I am ashamed to say that I am pleased the photos are date stamped!

Here's Ian, 6 days old:

and here's Caitlyn, 4 days old:

Nevertheless, whilst blogging action has been notably absent, some knitting action has occurred:

This is the completed back of a size 3 jumper for my "tolly boy" ("toddler boy") as DS Ian refers to himself. The pattern was sent to me courtesy of Donna, except I have made considerable modifications; namely abandoned the intarsia colour changes every 4 - 8 sts and made the front and back the same as the sleeves. If I did not, there is no way on this Earth that this garment would ever get finished. I know my knitting personality well enough to recognise this truth. Also, if the sleeves were not already knitted and waiting, then I may have abandoned this project altogether in favour of something else for my tolly boy. Fickle knitter. Iknow, I know...

[BTW DS Ian's newest game, apart from learning numbers on the calculator "which [one do you] want, Mum - which want?", is "Mummy's a lady; Daddy's a man; Caitlyn is a baby girl; Ernie (reference to self) is a TOLLY BOY etc".]

more tomorrow...

 

I've been knitting

just a leetle bit:

Yes. My new kids knit book has arrived! I really am going to need to get cracking. Maybe I can breastfeed and knit at the same time... I have decided to give up on the insarsia front and back as there is no way I am goingto knit it at all with the time available. I have decided to simply repeat the sleeve pattern front and back

and here's my dear ol' Mum's version of Clapotis

and here's a gratuitous pic of our newest cutie to finish