Knitting and Thinking – Much Accomplished!

Well, I FINALLY found the usb cord for the camera, so I can catch up on the knitting adventures of the last six or seven weeks. I’ve been taking a class four afternoons a week from 3- 7p.m., so I’ve had large blocks of time in which to knit to keep myself busy and focused.



To begin, I’ll review a few things. The blue baby surprise jacket for my two year old niece turned out very well. I love the flecked buttons that match the Sindar yarn.

Both the class in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and the knitting have been very profitable. It feels like a very long time since January. [grin]



The second baby surprise is for a new baby – born in January – to friends and is made of KP’s Shine in apricot and cream.
The little guy should look great in this – and I couldn’t resist the bumble bee buttons!

The stars will look pretty fine on the flip side, too. I love the colors, the yarn has become a favorite, and the whole experience of making this was just great. I really love making a second "something" since the second time around, I already understand the pattern! This jacket needs some finishing work, but should be completed shortly.

This red sock is done in Paton’s Merino Classic Wool. I’m really enjoying the patterns in “Sensational Knitted Socks.”

This is an eyelot pattern called "Elongated Corded Rib." Not only is this my first sock with a stitch pattern, but it’s my first attempt at the heel recommended in the book with the rows of garter stitch before the turn. I love the feel of this heel and will be giving it more use in the future!

I also completed a set of socks in “Victorian Violet” Highland Wool from Elann.com and “Daffodil” Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks.com.

They are wearing well – but in the wash, so no pictures yet! The yellow stripe on the foot makes me think of the crocuses my mother loves at Easter! I used the charts from “A Knitters Handy Book of Patterns” to make this pair in plain stockinet stitch with the more traditional heal turn described in that book. The two different yarns have worn and washed well together – no awkward looking differences between them.

Next is my favorite. I’ll try to get a picture of the sweater “on” this afternoon, but here it is!

Green Raglan Sweater

Knit in the round, this is a short-sleeved V-neck sweater in 2-1 rib with a moss-stitch collar. The yarn is a dark pine green llama-wool 50-50% blend from Classic Elite. I got this yarn several years ago on sale for less than half price at a local shop. I’ve enough in black and in cream for similar sweaters – I just need to plan the variations I want and get started.


The whole sweater is knit in the round with raglan sleeves. My chief “innovations” occurred at the neckline. I did several rows reducing one stitch on each side of the V, then several decreasing two stitches slip one, ssk, slip stitch over or slip one, k2tog, slip stitch over. This gave me a nicely curved “sweetheart” neckline.

As I approached the top of the sweater, I stopped decreasing before getting all the way down to the sleeves. This gave me two small “corners” sticking out from the rounded head opening before the V started. I accented and extended these corners into a soft collar that can be pinned into a “key-hole” neckline or left open to stand slightly or drape flat in a wide open neckline particularly useful in warmer weather.

The weather here in MidMO cooperated and dropped from the high seventies yesterday to the fifties today, so I’ll get to wear my sweater to my last class tonight. Since I started the sweater in the class, my mates have watched the whole progression and are interested in the results!

Now that the camera is transferring pictures again, I’ll get caught up on pups and cats soon too. All are well, though the Dalmatian is grumpy about all my time spent away from home. He’s getting used to the change however, and is much more interested in playing fetch now that the warmer weather has arrived!