Nearly there with the garter blanket, just another couple of colours to go and the rows are getting shorter and shorter. A real no-brain knit, nice for engrossing telly and a change from lacy things on tiny needles.

I didn't knit this, M's mum did (the pattern came out of last year's Simply Knitting and the wool was Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK, both of which I passed on to her a few weeks ago). I can only claim credit for the rather fine matching buttons which I bought from John Lewis this weekend and sewed on (extra firmly) while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. And no, two blue newborn baby knits ≠ 'it's a boy', I promise. (Though that's what the lady clearing trays in John Lewis told me, without even asking whether I already knew. Hmmm.)

Predictably enough, now the heat is off on the blanket edging, it's progressing slowly and I'm being seduced by other contrasting projects. On the way to N's christening I grabbed some blue sock wool and 2.25mm dpns and started making up a pair of baby socks (cast on 36, 2x2 rib for a bit, heel stitch flap heel, slightly messed up the instep/toe decreases but replicated this on sock #2 so it looks like a design feature instead of a screw-up). I think they are fine, although maybe a tad small. But rib is very forgiving, and s/he will surely have narrow feet like his/her mama, no?
Then I realised my minimal list of stuff required for a newborn included "blanket", and I didn't have one (and will not succumb to nasty pastels), so out came eight balls of Wool of the Andes/Elann Highland Wool in various shades of brown, and I made up a very simple diagonal pattern, using two strands held together, 7.5 mm needles and garter stitch. [Ravelry details; photos to follow once M is back from his travels with my camera.] It's maybe a bit seventies, what with the browns and the diagonal stripes, but I'm hoping it says "sophisticated coffee-and-cream colour combination" rather than "hey it won't show the poo stains". Anyway, it's going dead quickly - so that's why people like big chunky projects - I only cast on this week and am already past the halfway mark - identified by the scientific method of weighing (a) the work so far on one needle, and (b) the remaining wool plus the other needle on my hope-they're-accurate electronic kitchen scales, and switching from KFB to SSK when a approaches b.

Well, the centre panel is done anyway, here it is wet-blocking (and looking much less lumpy and grubby for it) early this morning. It'll be dry in time to wrap up and give to N at the christening on Sunday, then quietly borrow it back afterwards to finish the edging! I'm pleased with how it came out, slightly annoyed that I didn't get it 100% done by the deadline, and looking forward to knocking out a couple of small chunky freestyle projects to recover!

No post for ages - have been in a funk trying to get the alphabet blanket finished. But the christening is this weekend people, and I have not met my targets. Blame pregnancy sleepiness, or just general hubris for ever thinking it could happen. Still 23 rows to go on the letter blocks, never mind the notorious zig-zag edging. My new revised plan is to get the letters done at least, block it out, hand it over on Sunday for oohs and aahs, then quietly nab it back to finish the edge. Don't judge me...
M's mum has made a very sweet little cardy in yellow wool with matching hat for the baby. I've passed on to her some Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK in a pale blue, along with a pattern for a French-collared jacket with moss stitch details (I think it's a Louisa Harding pattern, was in Simply Knitting some time in summer 2006) that I like a lot but thought I'd never get round to - hope the pattern is okay!

Why, who's that gracing the latest e-newsletter from I Knit London? It's me (striped shirt on the left) and Ms Hedgehog (elegant skirt on the right)!
Up to the psychologically important 100th row on the alphabet blanket, and into the NOPQR section. Onwards!

There's nothing like a big, time-limited project to make you think about all the other things you'd like to knit... I've dreamt up a nifty striped toddler-sized hat and I know I have just the right bits of stashed yarn, but must resist until the Alphabet blanket is done. I've worked out a schedule to have it all blocked and ready in time for N's christening - basically I need to get the central set of 30 blocks (6x5) done by the end of March so that I can start on the edging. I'm off to a conference in Sheffield on April 1st, so the train should be a good chance to kick that off. I'm liking the pattern and not made any more screw-ups, and I'm somewhere around row 60 of about 240 (halfway up the "STUVW" row). I also think the yarn (dusty pink Rowan 4 ply) is very nice, I'm getting good stitch definition considering it's 100% wool, and it's easy to work with, not splitting or pilling.
I also figured out the reason why I kept misreading the k2togs for skpos on the chart. It diagrams them as "/" for k2tog and "\" for skpo, which is all very logical for right- and left-leaning decreases. But I'm left-handed and am quite comfortable with mirror inversions of letters and symbols (I occasionally write backwards and so on if tired or not concentrating). Because of this, I don't think the distinction between "/" and "\" is particularly salient to me; in a way, they feel like the same thing. Which is clearly a problem when reading pattern charts (!), so I have gone through it distinguishing all the skpos with orange highlighter pen. Which, so far, has worked...

22 rows down, a mere 200 or so to go... well gentle reader, I did screw up the lace at an early stage (this project is not ideally suited to Tube knitting, I belatedly conclude) by k2tog-ing when I should have skpo-ed and vice versa a couple of times, but I managed to fix it without ripping by dropping a few stitches down a few rows and reknitting with dpns and more attention to detail - I remembered this tutorial, where the incomparable SPMcP describes much the same thing to fix a miscrossed cable, and lo, it worked. Speaking of the Harlot, I'm very excited she's coming to the I Knit day in September - my ticket already booked thanks to Sairzey's efficiency!

How has it been so long since I last posted? I have since finished (yea, even blocked) this mysterious Colinette Banyan project, which is a nifty newborn-sized cardigan with raglan sleeves and peter pan collar from Vogue Knitting. The reason I was being cagey about it is that it is (drumroll please) for the baby that I am expecting myself, in June. I don't know when or if it is officially okay to knit for ones bump - some people seem to cast on as soon as the little blue line appears, others wait for various milestones to come around, or even the birth - but now that all looks well on a scan and I am feeling him or her moving around, it felt like the right time for me.
Now that that's finished, I have started to make Debbie Bliss's lovely but complex alphabet blanket, as a christening present for my niece, using some nice dusky pink Rowan 4ply. Can I finish it (and not screw up the lace pattern) inside of two months? We shall see.

I completely forgot to mention a project! This is Gro's Djevellue hat, which I came across on a Ravelry discussion thread. It's a baby hat structured rather like a Jaywalker sock, with three columns of double increases and three of double decreases (the former are stopped halfway up to form the crown). When worn this gives it an unusual peaked shape that I've seen and admired in other Scandinavian baby hats. I used a cotton-rich sock yarn that I bought in Aachen last year, and while I was working on it the combination of colour and shape started to feel oddly familiar... it's just like the magician from King Rollo!

Just got back from a trip to Paris - I'd thought I'd knit more on the Eurostar, but was so tired after all the Culture that I mostly just dozed off. Bootees joyfully received in Leuven, and other projects all still underway. Hoping to go to the shop night at I Knit next time it's in the shop on a Wednesday (Feb 6th I reckon), it has been too long.

The weekend's work - now winging their way to Belgium. [Edit: Ravelry favourite Saartje's bootees of course, how rude of me not to say.]

Hurrah, the Rowan Plaid has arrived. I foresee a weekend of "k2, p2, repeat until you can take it no more" to knock out a new scarf for my beloved.
I've taken up some pretty variegated Colinette Banyan (see left) that I picked up in Wales for a Mystery Project, but that is on hold as my friend Dora had a baby girl last week, so I need to whip up a little something for her and get it in the post to Belgium!
I'm also sort of chipping away at the Tuscany, and working again on the Shedir. Wishing I could find a way to do needle-free cabling that doesn't seem more of a fiddle than just using the needle. Teresa's technique is as always beautifully explained, but seems affy complicated. I'm having slight misgivings about the off-white colour of the yarn; since it's a chemo cap I don't want it to look in any way reminiscent of a bandage...

Stulpen (Pomatomus/Mermaid) instructions

The bad news is that there's still no sign of the Rowan Plaid... but the good news is that the Pomatomus/Mermaid Stulpen gloves were finished in time for Christmas, and here they are:

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I used DK wool and 3.75 mm needles, and here are the instructions:

1. CO 48, work twisted rib for 10 rounds, then Pomatomus pattern (only 4 repeats per round) three times from Cookie's Chart A. Three repeats makes them quite long - almost to the elbow - which was the way my sister wanted them.
2. Create thumb gusset by increasing either side of a marked stitch every other round in twisted rib - I adapted Rineke's directions (thanks for the tip KnittingLemonade!). At the same time work 23 stitches of palm in plain st st while working one more repeat of the Pomatomus pattern (from chart B). Order varies - the right glove goes pattern, thumb, palm, and the left glove goes pattern, palm, thumb. Make one of each :)
3. Stop thumb gusset and put it on waste yarn once you reach 19 stitches. Rejoin patterned section to palm to work 10 rounds twisted rib over 48 st.(If you want fingers, see here and here to figure out how.)
4. Cast-off with decrease cast off (k2tog, slip stitch back to LH needle, repeat) for a little more stretch than standard cast off.
5. Pick up 19 thumb stitches plus one extra at the join to make 20, work a few rows twisted rib to desired thumb length then cast off as above.
6. Sew in ends - if you have a bit of a hole where the thumb meets the finger, you'll have a handy bit of yarn in just the right place to sew it up.

I'm very happy with how they turned out but they did take ages.

kindred knitters, scarf Mk. 2, and a silken beret

After a Sunday afternoon viewing of West Side Story (wonderful), the second Stulpen is nearly up to the end of the first pattern repeat. It WILL be done for Christmas. I met a kindred knitter on the tube last week - I spied her Clapotis, she was eyeing up my Silk Garden beanie - and now we have friended-up on Ravelry.
Am now resigned to the fact that M's beloved scarf is not going to be found, and I have promised to make him a new one tout suite. None of the yarns in my stash or IKL's entire stock would suffice, and he confessed to having been particularly fond of the feel and colours of the old one (Rowan Plaid, a grey-white colourway 167 called "Seagull" - Ravelry pics here). It seems that nothing else would do, but alas, Rowan Plaid is discontinued. However, Angel Yarns had a few balls left in stock, so I have ordered a couple and hang the postage expense; am hoping they come by the 22nd so I can work on it during Christmas downtime.
For fans of crochet, berets or luscious silk yarns, the multi-talented Ms Hedgehog has just posted a very cunning pattern.

I am still here! I haven't been all that well for the last few weeks and knitting has been set aside, but I've taken it up again now and will get back to blogging too. The Tuscany still has a long way to go (I have slight reservations about the edge pulling in a bit, but expect that the blocking fairy will take care of it) but I have finished Stulpen #1. Fair going cross-eyed with the pattern, and not exactly relishing the prospect of doing it all over again - ah, second glove syndrome - but it does look rather fine. The elephantine-memoried among my readership will recall that they were supposed to be a birthday present for my sister, who turned 30 last week. Well, they are now being repurposed as a Christmas gift...
Nothing else on the go, although the surplice jacket was happily received last weekend and M has sadly left his beloved scarf on the Tube so I sense I will shortly be knitting him a new one. Made it to IKL on Wed night this week, the shop goes from strength to strength and I hope to make it along to their Christmas party on the 20th too.
Here is a photo of me wearing the kid classic cardy (and no, I wasn't deliberately posing like that to show off the sleeves) a couple of weeks ago. Cute niece included at no extra charge.

S&B day

Radio silence for ages, sorry. Belated thanks to Gerard and Craig for a wonderful UK Stitch and Bitch day; lovely to see the boy-clothes so pertly modelled, and to meet La Stoller, and to spend time talking and poking around the stalls with knitting buddies old (MsHedgehog, WoollyRockers, sairzey) and new (froggy). I was extremely restrained, only relieving Robynn of Purlescence of some Norwegian pewter clasps that I've had my eye on for ages. Although it was awfully hot in there, as others have observed (especially when you're wearing your best knitwear), we found a lunchtime stroll to the Carluccio's at Russell Square to return refreshed at about three when the crowds had thinned a bit was most convenient.
I am working mostly on the Tuscany shawl and the Stulpen, but keep hearing new projects calling to me. Must... finish... WIPs... first...

Here's this week's new WIPs; the Stulpen (left) arm tubes are based on the Pomatomus lace pattern but with a larger gauge and only four repeats, and of course a thumb instead of a heel when I get that far.
I enjoyed Amy Singer's Tuscany shawl lace class; several useful tips for getting free from scrutinising the charts and reading the knitting instead. Most people were using thinner silks with variegated dye, which will be beautiful, but I think the plain-coloured bamboo will make a soft dense fabric which should be quite suitable too. I hadn't visited the Loop shop (or Islington) before either, seemed like a nice set-up, and as well as the more pricy luxury yarns they had a good stock of GGH, which I'll bear in mind if I ever fall in love with a Rebecca pattern. My heart still belongs to IKL though...

EZ surplice baby jacket

The Zimmerman surplice jacket is nearly finished. A great pattern, though I didn't figure out the topology until quite late on. If you're making one and can't visualise it yet, it helps to know what each section of stitches along your needle will become:
1. top front of R sleeve, from collar to cuff
2. R cuff stitches (between markers)
3. top back of R sleeve, from cuff to collar
4. back of neck
5. top front of L sleeve, from collar to cuff
6. L cuff stitches (between markers)
7. top back of L sleeve from cuff to collar
It all becomes clear once you have 2 and 6 (the cuff stitches) off your needle - either on spare thread or cast off, as in my photos. 1 will be grafted to 3, and 5 to 7, leaving 4 to be cast off.

I chose the purl-marked-stitch-on-WS variant, with running stitch increases, which I think looks nice, and the cuff stitches are on green thread because I'm going to lengthen the sleeves a bit (not decided on rib or more garter though). I can weave away the stripy ends, so I'm going to omit the i-cord edge, and I don't see the point of a phony seam on a garment like this.

Behold the yarn cupboard! Until now it was all squeezed into the gap between the sofa and the wall in bags, which was offensive to the eye and made it hard for M to hoover. So the videos, which we barely watch, have been relegated and the cupboard is mine all mine.

Now, those WIPs: cardy is nearly sewn up, Stulpen still not begun, Clapotis having a rest (I got to the first drop though), and Shedir ticking along. I'm going to make a separate post about the Zimmermann surplice jacket.