Things I done did

A few weeks ago I learned a friend of mine was pregnant. Real pregnant. Due in a week and a half. I panicked. Baby coming?! Must! Knit! Hat! They didn't know the sex, so I had to find some gender-neutral superwash wool in my stash, stat! Couldn't find any! AUGH! Finally I settled on some green and white fingering weight that I'd whip into some kind of hat-with-fair-isle-sheep.

...but then three days later I saw on her facebook page that Miss Sadie had already arrived! I snagged some pink sport-weight wool (I know, I know, cliché color, but whatever, pink is nice) and the Spritely Hat pattern and four days later I had this:



The pattern is for a child's size, but with the sport-weight wool and size 3 needles it'd be close enough.

The sticks: size 3 circs
The string: Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000.

The little leaves on the top are outrageously cute.

And remember this?



It became this:



Which I want to be enough for a scarf, but really probably isn't. Alas. Maybe paired with some black wool? Hmmmm... Ooh! No! Dark gray! Yes.

Shiny

I'm not in a mood for knit-based rambling, but I haven't updated in an age, so here! Have some pictures, with assorted commentary, maybe! I haven't decided yet.



Sport-ish weight singles spun from the superwash merino that Grace sent me. I hereby dub that yarn, "IBFF."¹

The back of the vest I've been working on:



I've ripped it out more times than I'd care to think about, it's got a ton of things I'd change if I cared to rip it out again (no), but it's trucking along decently.

OMG Cable Close up!!1!



And even though I really should be spending money on unnecessary things, I bought some sock yarn while I was in Wisconsin last week (did I tell you I was in Wisconsin? I was in Wisconsin. Family reunion.) to make socks for my mom.



Now I just need to pick a pattern. Bayerische sock? But would it be comfy enough? I want comfy AND sophisticated. I really like the Rivendell sock, but am not feeling the whole "paying for a pattern" thing right now. So I dunno. Thoughts?

Also, I spent many, many hours both in a car and on a plane with my remaining Schaefer Anne, and it would NOT stop pooling. It's in time out. Possibly for a long, long time.

That's most of my news. How's with all y'all?

Apparently I ramble even when not in the mood. Intriguing!



¹ Internet BFF

Welcome to my undersea lair, Mr. Bond.

Love those Hansi patterns. Made for Infant X (my nephew!) out of Cascade 220 superwash.

Only mod was that I used size 2 needles for the pupils. I think next time I'd try a provisional cast-on for the eyes to aid sewing it down. Sewing the tentacles together involved a large number of not-child-approved words, but it's still hella cool.

If you're knitting her tentacled patterns, slip the first stitch of the tentacles on the side where you'll attach them to the body. You'll appreciate it later.



And more spinning!



So my friend Lizza started getting into spinning with a drop spindle. She told her step-mom, and next thing she (Lizza) knows, there's an antique spinning wheel on her (Lizza's) front porch and a big ol' bin of fiber. When I went to visit her she said I could snag something, so I snagged a baggie of 100% (tussah?) silk. (Boy, that sounds like drugs, doesn't it?)

It was a real mess to Andean ply. It got stuck to itself and wound into infuriating snarls. But HA it's done! Ha. Don't know what I'll do with it, but that's okay.

P.S. It would've been Mr. Rogers' 80th birthday today. Are you wearing a sweater? I am. Speedy Delivery.

Lazy, lazy, lazy

The main reason I write is to procrastinate from doing things that I don't feel like doing (e.g. school or work). Since I haven't had much of that, I haven't had the urge to write. But I have been doing things! Cool things! So it's picture time! And announcement time. I'll save that for last, because tension is good, or whatever.

First up!



Have you seen Hansigurumi's patterns? Go ahead and look, and buy them all. I'll wait here. The whole time I knit I was mumbling "Well christ that's clever." Except when I knit the head, during which I was screeching "How the (very bad word) did she figure THAT out?"

Seriously. I think she dabbled in quantum physics to figure that head out.

I bought the set of four cephalopods. I've started work on the squid. Hella awesome.

Next, I got to meet my friends' wee bairn while I was down in NC, and naturally I decided to knit her a hat, because... because. This is Aviva:



The pattern is Larissa's Feather and fan bonnet. I decided to knit it after seeing this picture (brace yourselves, clicking on that picture might result in death by cuteness). I used DK yarn (Lana Grossa Merino 2000) on size 4 needles. It came out a little small, so next time I make it (and I will again), I'll either use heavier yarn or add more repeats.



I also omitted the eyelet row and instead (hand!) sewed the ribbon on. This took ages. Not recommended. Also, my blocking job kinda sucked. I think I need a styrofoam ball for baby-hat-blocking purposes.

On a whim I took some of the roving I'd bought from TerraBellaSpun's Etsy store, and began spindling up some thick-and-thin singles, which I plied with some green sparkly sulky thread. Since the roving has sparkles, it's a WAY sparkly bunch of yarn.



I think I like it? But I don't know what to do with it. At all.

Speaking of spinning, remember that purple handspun? It became these:



GLOVES. Neat! I didn't use a pattern. I should've used smaller needles for the ribbing, but didn't have any appropriately-sized dpns. So I didn't.

So my friend Paige (who, it should be said, rocks pretty hard) is getting all married in early October, and invited me to be one of her Maids of Honor. The other MoH is making her dress, so I offered to make a lace shawl.

Because I'm an idiot.

I've done one lace thing before -- the Branching Out scarf -- and it had a bunch of mistakes (including being made of super crap yarn). I've done 7.5 (12-row) repeats. Of 34. Then there's the inner border. And the outer border.

I am so screwed.



But I'm using Malabrigo lace, which is hella soft. That part is good.

Now! Announcement time! I want you to meet someone:



This is Short Stuff, my impending nephew. Which explains all the baby stuff, and the octopus. I didn't mention him earlier Just In Case, but we've got 2 months to go and LOOK at that FACE. Somebody's got the chubby cheeks!

Awwww.

What?

This spinning thing? I can take it or leave it. You know. Whatevs. I have some roving in the mail, so I'll pick up some knitting until then.



I mean, spinning's neat and all, but it's not be-all-end-all or anything.

What picture? I don't know what you're talking about.



Oh. That picture. That's nothing. Just, um... some roving I found. At the yarn shop.

I JUST NEEDED SOME WORSTED WEIGHT SUPERWASH WOOL, OKAY? AND THIS JUST JUMPED OUT AT ME. IT WAS STRONGER THAN ME. NOT MY FAULT.

The fact that I'm spinning it up already -- also not my fault.

Oh yes

I like this spinning thing.



I bought this batt at SAFF in 2006.



I think it's BFL, and about 4 oz. I lost the tag for it, so I have no idea, really.



I also don't have the foggiest idea about yardage. My mom offered to buy me a niddy noddy when we went antiquing the other weekend, but I declined until I get more into spinning. In retrospect this was a poor move.



...I have 6oz of new roving on the way...