Too Cute to Wear?

I have a small backlog of projects I've yet to show you, and I finally got around to getting final (though rather bad) pictures of one. This goes into the "spun to finished" category.

Polwarth from All Spun Up, colorway A Somewhat Seuss-ish Trout:

Spun into a two-ply DK-ish weight yarn:

And knit up into a cute little hat:

Pattern: Aviatrix by Justine Turner (Ravelry link)
Yarn: handspun polwarth, as listed above
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
Started/Completed: December 6, 2010/December 15, 2010

I knit this up in time for Rainbow's first birthday -- that is, the knitting was finished in time for her birthday (actually, I'm pretty sure I cast off while she was napping/sleeping off her stomach bug on her birthday), but then the hat sat in my knitting bag for about a month and a half before I finally got around to sewing on the buttons and blocking it. Why it took so long for me to do a job that took all of five minutes is beyond me. Rainbow clearly wasn't in a hurry for me to finish it, though, as you can see from this picture:

Yes, we did force her to wear it, and she had a mini meltdown over it. She forgot about it after a couple of minutes and wore it happily all the way to daycare, but it was a no go when I tried to put it on again when I picked her up this afternoon. The girl just does not appreciate handknits yet!

Sweater Project, Week 7

It took a full six weeks, but the yarn for my sweater is done. I finished plying the last skein (a mishmash of all the scraps from the previous skeins) last Sunday night. In all, I have 11 skeins that total roughly 1254 yards. It is worsted weight, about 10-11 wpi, which is just what I was going for.

My camera was not cooperating with me yesterday when I was trying to take advantage of the sun to get some good shots of it, so the color isn't very accurately represented here. In reality, it's a deep chocolate brown with some flecks of white here and there.

The above pictures were taken without the flash. The picture below is taken with the flash, and it's a little darker than the real thing, but you get the idea.

After determining my final yardage, I purchased the pattern for the Acer Cardigan and printed it out, and then last night, after Rainbow went to bed, I wound the first skein into a ball, turned on an episode of Masterpiece Classic on the DVR, and knit a swatch.

I was a good girl and let it soak in some water and dry overnight before I measured gauge. I got 20 stitches and 26 rows/4 inches -- spot on for stitch gauge, but half a row off on row gauge. Totally manageable. I cast on this afternoon!

Bor-ing!

That's what my knitting has been lately. Lady E is languishing once again -- we're in the middle of a mini heat wave, so I'm not exactly anxious to have a lapful of wool right now -- so the only thing on my needles getting any actual attention is my Caribbean Amphibian socks. I've just finished the gusset of sock #2 (and yes, that is real, actual sunlight coming through my office window!):

This just your average run-of-the-mill stockinette sock. To jazz things up a bit, I did an eye of partridge heel and carried it through the heel turn. I like how it looks, and it doesn't hurt that it adds a little extra durability to the heel.

These shouldn't take too much more time to finish up; I'm hoping that when they're done, I can find my knittng mojo again, because I'm anxious to start my handspun sweater! I figure that if I can cast on by the beginning of March, that will give me two solid months to knit before Maryland Sheep and Wool. I think I've decided on a pattern -- the Acer cardigan. I have enough yardage and the yarn weight is right, so I think I might have a winner! That is, unless someone can suggest something I like better ...

Sweater Project, Week 6

It's been a busy week of plying here and little else, which is why I haven't blogged since last Sunday. I do have a nice pile of finished yarn to show you, though it's not completely up to date. This is the first seven skeins:


As I type, the eighth skein has been added to the pile; skein #9 is drying in the bathroom upstairs after its bath; and skein #10 is on the wheel, ready to be wound onto my niddy noddy. All that's left is to deal with the leftovers, which I'm planning on combining to make the 11th skein, and I'm officially done with all the spinning for this sweater!* I should have at least 1,100 yards, though I'm hoping for about 1,200. Just about time to pick out a pattern -- please share any suggestions if you've got 'em! I'm thinking cardigan, nothing too fussy or fancy (or in any stitch pattern that would get lost in this dark color).

*I still have an ounce of fiber left that I may spin up later in a two ply for seaming, if I go the seamed route for the sweater, but that shouldn't take me more than a day or so to do.

Sweater Project, Week 5

For the record, this is what 30 ounces of fiber look like when they've been spun up as singles:


The last ounce was finished yesterday afternoon, so it took me 36 days to spin all 30 ounces. Plying starts today!

Like the Old Days

Most of the action here this week has been of the spinning variety, but I've been doing a bit of knitting here and there, too. I managed to put a few more rectangles on my Lady Eleanor at knit night last night, and during my lunch break yesterday, I finished a sock:

I started this one on Christmas Eve as we were driving down to D.C. and, needless to say, it hadn't seen much action since then. But these socks have now gone into rotation as my lunchtime knitting, so I anticipate a finished pair in another week or so.

I had to laugh at myself while I was getting close to the toe on this sock. It's just my standard sock recipe, but it had been so long since I knit a sock for myself that I couldn't remember when to start the toe!

Sweater Project: Week 4

Rather than showing you what's been spun so far, it's easier to show you what's left. There are six ounces in my bag ...

and one on the wheel, partially spun up.

The goal is to have this all spun up by next Sunday evening -- I don't think watching the Super Bowl will be conducive to spinning a consistent single!

Back from Hibernation

The majority of my fibery time in the evenings is still being taken up by spinning (I'm getting about an ounce done every evening, so the end is in sight), so these days the only real knitting time I get on a daily basis is during my lunch break at work. That particular project is a surprise, so I can't show it to you just yet. I will say that it involves cotton and cables, so it's a good thing I'm only working on it 30-40 minutes at a time. Aside from that, however, any knitting chez Knit/Wit has been on a project that has been resurrected from hibernation.

Last week, when thinking about what to take with me to knit night, it suddenly occurred to me that I had a long-dormant WIP stored away in the closet of my fiber room. I had started my Lady Eleanor Stole before Rainbow was born (a check of my Ravelry project page when the topic came up at knit night revealed that I cast on for it on November 3, 2009), and I had worked enough on it to realize that I'd need more yarn than the 10 skeins I already had. Of course I had the bad luck to have picked a colorway that was discontinued, but I was able to find three more skeins of it in an online shop and placed the order. I remember distinctly that those three skeins were waiting for me when we brought Rainbow home from the hospital.

I think I managed to make a little progress on the stole last winter, but this project has been largely ignored for many months. Now I really want to finish it, and I want to finish it in time to use it this winter. Here is my progress thus far, four or five skeins in:

I've really forgotten just how addictive entrelac can be. It's one of those knitting techniques that looks really complicated but isn't, and it's definitely a good technique when you need something you can pick up and put down easily. There's no chart to mark or rows to count, and in my case I'm really just knitting until I'm out of yarn, so I don't even have to measure. I definitely need to reteach myself how to knit backwards, though, because it's getting big enough that it's a real pain to flip it back and forth.

Sweater Project, Week 3

Although I thought that by now I might've been slowing down in my spinning, I seem to be keeping a pretty good pace. Here you see my status as of this morning -- a total of 17 ounces spun. This afternoon, while Rainbow took a nice long nap, I caught up on some old podcasts and finished spinning ounce number 18. That means I'm keeping a pace of about 6 ounces a week, or a little less than an ounce a day. If I can keep it up, I should have all the singles spun in two more weeks.

Plying should take me less time by a significant amount -- I'm hoping I can ply a skein a day -- and then I'll have to pick out my sweater pattern. Dare I say it might be possible to have my sweater done by Maryland Sheep & Wool?

Feeling a Little Tam-y

Remember how I promised you a finished knitted project? It took me a couple of days to get a picture (albeit not a great one), but here it is!

Pattern: Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborne
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (100% Peruvian highland wool), colorways Pool and Mist, less than one skein each
Needles: US 0 (2.0 mm) and US 2 (2.75 mm) circulars
Started/Completed: December 20, 2010/January 14, 2011

This was a fun little stash-busting project, using up two more skeins (well, most of them) that were leftover from my colorwork vest. It was my lunchtime knitting, which is why it took so long to finish -- I was only able to knit a handful of rows at a time. It's really quite a fast project; the longest part to knit was probably the ribbing for the brim.

The pattern is very well written/charted, and I just love the clever way the decreases at the crown are done in such a way that they're virtually inperceptible. The only change I made was to switch a ssk for a slip/knit/psso, just because I like the symmetry of a ssk with a k2tog.

As you can see, a certain someone wanted to get in on the action when I was doing my little photo shoot. So I let her try it on:

Super cute, right? The pattern says to block the hat over a 10-inch plate, but I just laid it flat on one of my drying racks and patted it into the proper width. As you can see, it has a nice level of slouchiness but the ribbing keeps it snug on the head. I know this is a pattern I will knit again!

Sweater Project: Week 2

As of yesterday, 12 ounces spun, three more from the first pound to go!

Coming soon: a real, live knitted finished object!

Sweater Project: Week 1

As of this morning, when I took this picture, I had six ounces spun up and the seventh on the wheel.

The seventh ounce was finished this afternoon and ounce number eight is now in progress. We're moving right along here! (By the way, how do you like my high-tech storage bobbins?)

Yes, I Still Knit!

With all the spinning content in recent post, I'll bet some of you were wondering if I was still knitting. The answer is yes, although lately the knitting has been progressing at the rate of cold molasses. I started a plain sock on Christmas Eve so that I'd have something to work on in the car on the way to D.C. and in the hotel room after Rainbow went to sleep (because even though I'd like to be able to pass out at 7:30 like she does, it usually doesn't happen). No pictures yet -- I only have about half a sock at this point -- but I used some deep stash yarn, the Knit Picks Bare I dyed with Kool Aid many, many moons ago.

What I can show you is what I've been working on during my lunch breaks. It's colorwork, so it's also pretty slow going.

This is the ribbing and about 20 or so rows of Selbu Modern, a fun little tam that's also serving as a stash-busting project. I'm using a couple of skeins of Knit Picks Palette that were leftover from my Ivy League Vest. I should have enough left to do another hat with the colors reversed, if I should so choose.

Spinning 2011: The Sweater Project

After many years of failing to keep my new year's resolutions, I have pretty much quit making them. This year, however, I've decided to embark on a pretty ambitious project for the year. Some time ago, I inherited about two pounds of naturally colored wool from a friend who had learned to spin and then decided it wasn't for her. It's been sitting in my stash ever since while I've entertained myself spinning dyed fiber, and late last year I decided that it was time to tackle it. It is a mystery wool -- soft enough that I can bear to spin it but also "tough" enough that it should make a yarn that will wear well. The label calls it "natural black" in color, which really means a deep chocolate brown (in real life, a little darker than it appears in this photo).

The goal of this project? Spin up this fiber into yarn and knit that yarn into a sweater. I haven't selected what sweater I will knit yet -- I'm waiting to see how much yarn I can get from the fiber before I pick a pattern -- but I'm trying to spin a three-ply worsted weight yarn. I split up my first pound into little bundles of an ounce each and am spinning one ounce at a time. As of last night, I have finished spinning singles from two ounces and have started in on the third. The plan is to spin all the singles (I have a large collection of empty toilet paper rolls waiting to hold the singles so that I have free bobbins for spinning other things) and then ply. I was worried about getting bored with spinning only naturally colored fiber for a long period of time, but so far I'm enjoying it; an ounce is also an easy amount to spin up, so I can take a break between ounces.

To clear off my bobbins in order to start spinning my sweater yarn on January 1, I finished up what was on my wheel on December 31 -- Welsh top from Crown Mountain Farms, the September 2010 shipment. I spun the singles from the fold for a two-ply heavy worsted weight yarn measuring about 115 yards. I don't love the feel of this yarn -- it's definitely way too rough for next to the skin -- nor did I love spinning it, as it shed all over the place, but I did love the colorway (Walpurgis).

I finished 2010 having spun up all but two of my CMF shipments; one of those will definitely be spun, one may never be spun. Another fiber going into the definitely will be spun category is the first shipment from the 2011 fiber club, this South African top in a colorway called Celtic Glow.

This should be a perfect break from my sweater yarn when I get sick of "natural black"!

Double Spin

So here we are on the last day of 2010. It's been a big year for many reasons, but it's been a really productive year in terms of my spinning. I've learned a lot and definitely reached outside my comfort zone, in large part due to my membership in the Crown Mountain Farms fiber club. I've signed up again for next year (and already received my first shipment!), but I have two spins from 2010's shipments to show you (and one more to come, but it's in its bath right now).

First is November's shipment, which was Norwegian top dyed in gorgeous jewel tones in a colorway called Mandala. I knew that I wanted to maintain the colors and have a fairly fast spin, so I spun a relatively thick single and chain plied it.

The resulting yarn is a heavy worsted to bulky and a whopping 95 yards. This is most definitely the thickest yarn I've ever spun, which is actually an accomplishment if you know what I normally spin.

Next is the final shipment for 2010, a soft and lovely BFL in a lovely colorway called Karmapa. I opted for a two ply on this one.

The big skein is DK weight and approximately 145 yards. I chain plied the singles leftover on one bobbin and got an additional 13 yards (which Rainbow has enjoyed squishing).

I'm excited to see what the 2011 club has to offer; if the first shipment is any indication, it's going to be fantastic.

As this year draws to a close, I'd like to thank all of you who have stuck with me on the blog, even though I haven't been able to post as often as I'd like. I really appreciate your comments and the fact that you're still reading. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and fibery 2011!

Oblique

Thanks to my friend Jenn, who was working when I stopped by my LYS earlier today, I finally have pictures of my completed Oblique to share with you!

Pattern: Oblique by Veronik Avery (Fall 2007 Knitty)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool (100% wool), color 8085, approximately 2.5 skeins
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: September 15/December 4
Mods: slight changes to the collar (see below)

I am completely thrilled with this sweater. I wanted something that would be warm and roomy, like a guy's old sweatshirt, but with a little bit of style. This truly fit the bill.

It took a while to get into a good rhythm on this sweater, which is part of the reason it took almost three months to knit. Every row has three different stitch pattern, two of which are a four-row repeat and one of which is an eight-row repeat. I had to make sure I was awake enough and had enough attention to spare when I worked on this sweater, and I also had to make sure I had my row counter handy. Eventually I had the stitch patterns memorized and could tell which row I was on without the counter, but I still needed it when I got to the shaping so that all my parts would match up.

This was the first time I'd knit a real (i.e., sewn up) raglan. I've done enough top-down raglan sweaters to understand how the shaping would/should look, but I'd never had to sew up raglan seams before. I discovered that I didn't loathe sewing up raglan sleeves like I do set-in sleeves; in fact, I quite liked it! The only thing about raglan seams that I didn't really care for is that I had to sew them all up before I could pick up for the collar, which meant that by the time I got to the collar, I had the weight of the whole sweater on my needles. I guess it's fortunate that the collar isn't that big and was relatively fast to knit.

The collar is where I did make a few modifications. For starters, I picked up about 12 stitches more than I should have (I don't know about you, but I never seem to pick up the same number as the designer!). I made sure to keep the additional stitches in a multiple of four so that the ribbing wouldn't get messed up. I also bound off for the collar in plain knit, rather than in rib as specified in the pattern. The reason for this is simple: The button bands are knit first, and the pattern didn't specify to bind them off in rib, so I just bound them off normally. By the time I got to the collar, I needed to match the button bands. I actually think it was a rather wise mistake design feature on my part, because had I bound off the collar in twisted ribbing, it would likely have been a little wavy and loose. I believe I also ended the collar a couple of rows early for aesthetic reasons.

The final verdict is that this is a great sweater; in fact, I've been wearing it almost every other day since it was finished. It's very warm and cozy, so it's also been doubling as a sweatshirt over my pajamas when I'm sitting in bed or at my wheel in the evenings. I'm definitely a fan of raglans now, too, so this won't be my last one.

Christmas Knitting

I didn't do very much holiday knitting this year, and with good reason. Having a 1-year-old around the house means that my hands are busy most of the time. But I wanted to do a little something for some very dear friends with whom we celebrate every Christmas (except for last year, when we had a very good reason for missing the holiday). They are three sisters who lived across the street from me for the first seven years of my life. The middle sister has been my best friend since we were born; she was in my wedding and I was in her wedding last fall, when I was about eight months pregnant. The youngest sister went to college with my brother, and the oldest babysat him. Needless to say, these are some very knit-worthy friends.

Knowing that my knitting time was limited and that these are some very stylish girls, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out a pattern that had been on my radar for a while.

Pattern: French Press Felted Slippers [Ravelry link] by Melynda Bernardi
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino (black and red) and Cascade 220 (green), roughly a skein and a half of each
Needles: US 15 (10.0 mm) circs
Mods: none

This was the first time I've ever felted something that had to fit, and it was a bit of a pain, mostly because I had to go over to my parents' house to do it (they have a top-loader; I have a front-loader). It took the better part of an hour to get the slippers felted to my satisfaction. The Patons slippers felted a lot faster and a lot better than the 220 slippers, which was no surprise given the characteristics of the yarn. The green slippers could've probably felted a little more (there's still some stitch definition visible), but they were the right size and I didn't want to risk them winding up too small. I plan on giving the recipients some instructions on how to felt them a little more and get the slippers to mold to their feet if desired, so I don't think it will be a problem in the long run.

These slippers are definitely a fast knit, especially once you've knit a pair or two. I'd estimate that it probably took no more than four hours to knit all the components and sew up a pair, which is really quite reasonable when you need a quick gift. Now that I'm officially on vacation, I'm going to make a point of airing out my stash to find some yarn to make myself a pair.

There's one more small Christmas knit to show you, but I'm hoping to get a shot of it in situ, so you'll have to wait for that.

To all of you who celebrate, I wish you a very merry Christmas! To everyone else, have a great weekend!

More Mittens

Finally, a chance to show an unblogged project!

Pattern: Vespergyle Mittens by Elinor Brown
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (100% Peruvian highland wool), colorways Bark (23 g) and Blue (31 g)
Needles: US 0 (2.0 mm) dpns
Started/Completed: October 20/December 5

These took me a little while because these were my designated lunch break knitting, which meant they only saw about 30-40 minues of knitting a day during the week. Add to that the fact that I'm a little slower when knitting colorwork and you can understand why they took a month and a half to finish.

The last time I knit these mittens, I used a circular and magic looped. This time around, I decided to try dpns to see how I liked them for colorwork. The answer? Not so much. I found them to be more difficult to hold, probably because I do stranded colorwork with one color in each hand, which means less fingers to hold the needles. There's also a slightly noticeable line down the middle of the mitten where the split for the needles was, but I think it'll even out with wear.

The only real glitch with these mittens is that I somehow mismeasured when I was knitting the thumbs and ended them a little soon -- so these will go into the long-term planning box for someone with stubby thumbs!

12/15

December 15, 2009

December 15, 2010

Foiled Again, with Handspun

I had fully intended to get some shots of me modeling my finished Oblique this past Saturday, when the weather report was calling for sun. Unfortunately, Rainbow woke up with a slight fever, so we spent the morning taking her to the pediatrician (diagnosis: ear infection #7) and the pharmacy for her prescription. And there went my chance for photos. Perhaps I'll get another chance later in the week. For the time being, I can tell you that blocking helped to even it out immensely and that I wore the sweater to work on Friday and was extremely cozy all day -- to the point of actually getting sweaty after my walk home.

We're in the middle of a winter storm here in Western Pennsylvania, so natural light is extremely hard to find. I couldn't even get any for taking shots of my latest handspun, so please excuse this photo, taken with a flash in my shower (I thought the lighting might be better there).

This is a BFL/silk blend from All Spun Up for the latest spinalong. This particular colorway is called Rustic, and this photo doesn't really capture the true beauty of the chocolate browns, deep orange-y rusts, and little peeks of blue and green here and there. I'm a bit disappointed with my yardage -- roughly 392 yards of light fingering weight -- but I know that it's because I did a poor job of splitting the fiber. I had a significant amount left on one bobbin when I'd finished plying; those leftovers went on to my leftover bobbin (to which I add all my thin leftover singles) and will be plied up eventually.

Photos* to Come

Well, at long last, my Oblique is finished. I did the raglan seams and picked up stitches for the collar last week at knit night, finished off the collar on Friday night, and sewed up the rest of the seams on Saturday. It is exactly as I hoped -- big, cozy, and exceptionally warm. I wore it with my pajamas a couple of times over the weekend while sitting around and watching TV, and it very much has the oversized sweatshirt/stolen father's cardigan feel to it that I was going for.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to get in a photo shoot over the weekend, and this sweater really deserves some shots in good lighting, so you'll have to wait to see it. Besides, it really needed a good wet blocking to even out all the stitches, so it's soaking now (and I expect will take a few days to dry) along with a pair of colorwork mittens I'd been working on during my lunch breaks for the past couple of months. For now, I hope you'll settle for a little preview -- in this case, a close-up of the buttons I'd been saving for just the right project. I just love the little design etched around the circumference.

Now that my sweater is finished, knitting of holiday gifts has officially commenced. I'm limiting myself to only a few things that are fast projects, so there will be no Holiday Knitting Crazy here as we get closer to Christmas. I also cast on for a hat for Rainbow, who, while she won't know the difference between a hat that's a gift and a hat that I force her to wear on a daily basis, really needs something stylish to wear for her first Christmas trip. I'm very excited about this particular hat, as it's being knit out of some of my handspun Polwarth from this summer. If there's enough yarn leftover, I might have to make a chapeau for me to match!

*Good photos, in natural light -- I promise!

Oblique: The To Do List

• Knit back - check
• Knit two fronts - check
• Knit two sleeves - check
• Knit left button band - check

• Knit right button band
• Seam raglan seams
• Knit collar
• Weave in ends
• Sew on buttons
• Block

The list is getting shorter!

No More Delusions

Reality has set in: There is no way my Oblique is going to be done in time for Thanksgiving. For some reason, even though I've knit quite a few sweaters, I always forget how long sleeves take. The good news is that I've started the raglan decreases on sleeve #1 (and am quickly approaching the end of my second skein of yarn).

(By the way, can I just say how much I hate this time of year for taking pictures? If the sun comes out at all, it's out in the middle of the day when I'm at work. There never seems to be any natural light when I'm home. So please accept my apologies for this horrible picture.)

I imagine that I'll get in some decent knitting time next weekend, but I'm not going to kill myself trying to get this done to wear to Thanksgiving dinner. By Christmas seems more likely, especially because I have to put this down for a bit to do some super secret knitting.

Please don't forget that there's still time to do some good and win some handspun in return!

Sweater Mojo: I Haz It

I don't know whether it was the sudden cold snap last week or the depressingly early sunsets of eastern standard time, but something has caused my sweater mojo to come back in full force. The last time you saw my Oblique, I only had about six inches done on the back. It sat like that for some time and then, all of the sudden, I felt the urge to do some serious sweater knitting. I powered through the rest of the back in a matter of days, completed one front in a weekend, and am now roughly two-thirds of the way through the second front. I'm hoping to finish it off tonight.

After this, there's just the sleeves, seaming, collar, and button bands to be done. It's a slim shot, but I may just finish it by Thanksgiving.

Freya

A quick one for tonight -- the latest spin, which was finished last week and has been waiting patiently for the sun to come out so it could have its photo shoot.

This is Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale (the October fiber club shipment) in the surprise colorway, Freya. My two ply is roughly sport to DK weight and approximately 273 yards.

Do Some Good and Win!

Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it seems to fly by, as it has since Rainbow was born 10 1/2 months ago. And sometimes it seems to creep. It seem like much longer than five years ago, for instance, since I published the first post of this blog. Many things have changed since then, both in terms of knitting and life, but I can remember sitting at my old computer in my old apartment and typing that first post like it was yesterday. It brings up lots of warm and fuzzy feelings, because through my knitting and blogging, I've made some great friends and learned a lot about myself and my craft.

So, in honor of my five-year blogiversary and because those warm-and-fuzzies make me feel like giving others the warm-and-fuzzies, I've decided to do a little giveaway. Now there is a catch, because I'd really like to do some good with this giveaway. So here's how it's going to work: This will be a raffle. For every $5 you give to any one of the following charities, you earn one entry into the raffle.

The American Red Cross: You can choose where you want your donation to go, but I'd like to suggest selecting either where the need is greatest or disaster relief.

The March of Dimes: Ever since Rainbow was born, the health of babies and children has been near and dear to my heart. This organization does a lot to support healthy pregnancies, prevent premature birth, and fund research into preventing birth defects.

Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest): Food bank usage has increased dramatically with the economic downturn, and this organization works to ensure that food banks across the country are well stocked so that no one needs to go hungry if they fall on hard times.

If you're able to give even $5 to one of these charities, it can do a lot of good; if you can give more, please do. Then, send me an e-mail (paknitwit[at]gmail[dot]com) and let me know how much you've given so I'll know how many entries you'll get. I will do the drawing at random from all the entries, so the more entries you have, the better your chance of winning.

And what might you win? I know, you've been waiting patiently to find out. Because I'm asking a lot of you, I have some pretty special prizes: some skeins of my handspun.

Prize #1: Crown Mountain Farms Wensleydale

This skein of laceweight singles is approximately 770 yards and is plenty for a good-sized shawl.

Prize #2: Crown Mountain Farms Shetland

This skein is two-ply heavy laceweight/light fingering and approximately 595 yards. Also plenty for a good-sized shawl or other lacy item.

Prize #3: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Wool

This Aran-weight skein is approximately 235 yards, perfect for a hat, cowl, or pair of mittens.

The contest begins at 12 a.m. tomorrow (November 1) and will end at 11:59 p.m. on December 14. I will do the drawing for winners on Rainbow's first birthday, December 15!

Just Because

I finished up a project last week that had no real purpose or intended recipient. I just felt like doing a little colorwork, and I'd had the pattern in my pattern binder for several years. Sometimes it's nice to do something just because.

Pattern: Winter Twilight Mitts by Laura Rintala
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (100% Peruvian highland wool) in colorways Navy (approximately 31 grams) and Calypso Heather (approximately 23 grams), or less than one skein each
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) Knit Picks circs, worked magic loop
Started/Completed: September 7/October 20

These were a fairly fast knit, but they took as long as they did because they were relegated to my lunchtime knitting at work, so only about 45 minutes or so on a good day.

You may recall that I ordered quite a few skeins of this yarn, in many color options, when I was deciding on colors for my Ivy League Vest. As a result, I have a number of skeins that were untouched. This yarn, though fingering weight, isn't really appropriate for socks, but it's perfect for colorwork, so I thought I'd put some of it to use. These mitts will go in the long-term planning box for now, until I find an appropriate recipient and occasion.

I liked this pattern enough when it was a Knitting Daily freebie a couple of years ago to print it out, but to be honest I'm kind of meh about it now. I also have some weird puckering issues in a few places that didn't block out -- not because I didn't leave my strands loose enough, but from where I caught my floats. I think from now on I'll stick to colorwork patterns that don't require me to carry the non-working yarn for so many stitches.

A Little Pumpkin for My Little Pumpkin

This post is long overdue, as per usual. I actually tried to post last night but was thwarted by some Blogger update or something that prevented me from posting photos, so tonight it is.

As the weather has gotten colder and Rainbow has gotten bigger, I've been thinking about making her a new hat or two. She has definitely outgrown her tomato hat from last winter, so I thought another food-themed topper was in order. Considering the season (and the fact that I recently picked up a copy of Itty Bitty Hats from the Knit Picks book sale), a pumpkin hat was a natural choice.

Pattern: Little Pumpkin from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, colorway Pumpkin, approximately half a skein, plus scraps of leftover Cascade 220 in brown and green for the stem and leaf
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) Knit Picks Options, worked magic loop
Started/Completed: October 9/October 11

This was a very quick, relatively mindless knit. I started it in the car as we were on our way out to the farm to buy pumpkins and apples and finished it up two days later, while Rainbow was taking a long nap on our day off. I love how it turned out, but I'm not sure how much wear it will get this winter. Why? See for yourself:

Note to self: make sure the next handknit hat I make has a chin strap or ties to keep it on.