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Spit Splicing

So, the other day, I decided to try this "spit splicing" thing I had heard so much about. I'm currently working on a sweater I'm sample knitting for Donna Druchunas, over at Sheep to Shawl. By the way, her patterns are lovely, and I highly recommend them. They're super easy to follow, and I have never gotten as many compliments on my knitting as I have while working on this sweater. It's a lovely blue and cream, and one of my favorite work-horse yarns: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted.

The yarn seemed like it would felt well, and so when I got to the end of my first skein of the blue, I teased out a few inches at the end of the skein and a few at the beginning of the next skein, and rolled and rubbed them in my fingers until they felted together (all of about 30 seconds, and not much spit was needed!). Then, I tried tugging on it, trying to get it to fall apart. I was a little skeptical about this technique, but it proved to be very strong. Once I put the yarn down for a second, I couldn't actually tell where the splice was! I was definitely impressed. I think I will definitely keep this in mind from now on whenever I'm using feltable yarn of any kind!

A Baby Sweater and a Hat

I finished Iced Gem the other day:

I also finally finished Danielle's hat, which is the Fern Glade pattern from Knitty:



Thanks to Rosa for that top photo! It was a quick knit once I got going. Now I'm hoping to get Trellis done quickly (I started yesterday) and start on the test knitting I've got lined up!

Presto Chango, and other baby plans

Second Presto Chango has been mailed out! Here are some pictures:

Buttons, as usual from the loveley Windsor Button.

I've also decided, as I think I mentioned in the previous post, to enter the Stitch House baby sweater competition. I found a really cute pattern, and nice, affordable yarn, and I'm more than halfway done with the sweater now! I'm doing Iced Gem from Louisa Harding's Enchanted. I'm using Cascade 220 heathers in a nice soft purple (so, surprise, surprise, this will be for Nick and Dina's baby). After finding out on Friday about another friend who is expecting, and remembering that I keep forgetting about a cousin who is expecting (really, lots of pregnancies to keep straight!) I'm up to six babies between now and september. A positive baby boom. Let's see what I know about the babies:

• 1 is a girl
• 1 (probably 2) I won't know whether it's a boy or girl until the baby is born. Anyone have good suggestions for gender-neutral baby sweaters?
• 1 I will know in a month if it's a boy or girl.
  
• 4 will live in cold climates! Yay!
• 2 will live in Florida, and might get wool anyway because so much knitting with cotton has been hurting my hands.
• 1 in April, 2 in May, 2 in June, 1 in September

I think there will be little Christmas/Chanukah knitting this year, because between the babies and the weddings, I think I'll be pretty busy!

Ariella hat

I just finished the Ariella Hat, named after my cousin Robin's new baby.

It's definitely not the best picture, and I'll try to take another before wrapping it up. I've put the pattern up on Ravelry because it was requested, although only in one size, and without a ton of proofreading, so there might be some errors.

I also finished my second Presto Chango, for Samuel, yesterday and took some pictures and mailed it off today. I'll post those as soon as I can get them uploaded. James picked out some pretty cute elephant buttons at Windsor Button.

These two projects getting done is leaving me a bit calmer about all the lifecycle knitting I have to do in the next 8 months. Here's what's left in priority order:

• Blanket for Jennifer and James, wedding in June
• Blanket for Sheila and Jim, wedding in June
  
• Sweater for Baby Pena (sex unknown), due in September
  
• Sweater for Baby Mason (sex unknown), due in May
  
• Sweater for Baby Dunn (sex unknown), due in April
• Sweater for Baby Varacalli (girl), due in May
• Blanket for Bianca and Kevin, wedding in May
  

I'm thinking that in order to kickstart the baby knitting, I'll enter the contest that Stitch House just announced. I wonder if I can enter multiple sweaters? That would be pretty good incentive to get them all done by the end of next month! I should be able to do four baby sweaters in two months, right :) ?

Request for test knitters

I'm in the process of designing a cardigan. It's a little bit lacy, with a leaf motif and seed stitch. Sizes range from CYC XS (28-30" bust) to 3X (52-54" bust). It's in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. Anyone interested in test knitting?

Also, the babies are coming! The babies are coming! Two more to add to the list since the last time I updated. One due in May, the other in September (at least I've got a while for that one!)

Babies everywhere!

I finished my first Presto Chango:

The color is more accurate in the second picture. Also, aren't those just the cutest buttons? Asher helped me pick them out at Windsor Button. I liked this pattern quite a bit and am a good portion of the way through a second one (for James's cousin's baby). We ran into Erin last night on our way home and she said she really liked it, which I'm very glad of.

However, we're now finding out about new babies left and right, so I think my plans for blankets for some of them will have to go away in favor of smaller projects! Here are my revised plans:

• Samuel, Presto Chango #2, which is about 1/3 of the way done
• Ariella, a hat (to match the sweater my mom made) which should be quick. I need to finish it by February 14th, but I can probably get a good bit done in the car on the way to DC the day before.
  
• Baby Dunn, Waving Grass Wrap not started yet. (Due in April)
  
• Baby Varacalli, Peach Blossom Baby Jacket, not started yet (Due in May)
  

I still haven't gotten my test-knitting stuff for the Norwegian sweater I'm supposed to be doing (with steeks!) so I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out how I need to budget my time. I'm trying to get as much of this done as soon as possible, but I'm also working on a pair of socks for me and blanket for James and me (Hemlock Ring). Also, my wrists are starting to give me some trouble again, so I'm trying not to overwork them.

Test knitting and designing

So, the toy I was supposed to test-knit fell through. I'm a little bit sad, but given my knitting workload right now, it's actually a bit of a relief. I also found that the yarn for the sweater I'm test knitting has been shipped, but the pattern hasn't since it's not ready yet (which seems to me an odd way to do things, but it's not my money buying the yarn). Betty's pattern I should probably check up on, but I'm guessing she's just been super-busy and that won't be ready to do for a while yet.

Also, there's this design class I'm taking. I was the only one to sign up, so we're designing me a sweater. It's a cardigan, which is exciting, since I love cardigans *way* more than pullovers, but have yet to knit one. Really, it shouldn't be that hard, right? James said he'd help me with the math, and I already have the first swatch done! I'll post a photo when I get a chance. There are two stitch patterns in this cardigan, in addition to stockinette (which is the swatch that I have done).

The yarn I'm using is my birthday yarn from Maris, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in "Candy Apple." It's funny that it felt so cotton-y when working mostly with wool otherwise, but after working on Presto Chango in 100% cotton, the Cotton Fleece feels lovely. Also, it's knitting up very nicely on US 7's, and at a much friendlier gauge than it did on the 6's. The gauge in stockinette is 4.5 stitches per inch, and 7.5 rows per inch.

Babies!

The babies are everywhere! I've got a lot to do on the baby front:

• By February 14: Hat for Ariella (Louet Gems yarn leftover from the matching sweater my mom made)
• ASAP: Presto Chango for Blaise (with Rowan Denim I got as a giveaway at Stitch House)
• By April: Mirabilis or Pinwheel blanket for Baby Dunn (no name or gender yet).
  
• By June: Hat for Baby Blumberg (no name or gender yet) to match a TBD sweater my mother will make (you might be noticing that we have a standing plan for my cousins' babies -- my mom picks a sweater and I make a hat to match)

Now, nobody else is allowed to get pregnant, ok? :) Right now this is a reasonable list, but it's only January and I could see it getting much longer.

December Holiday Knitting

Well, all the December Holiday knitting is done. I finished the last bit on Christmas day. Luckily, I have an understanding husband who didn't mind his Christmas present not being wrapped :)

Highlights in reactions:

• random stranger on the green line telling my mother she just *had* to know where she got her scarf.

• Rachel being enthralled with the hat and sweater combo for Riley.

• Elizabeth wearing her hat for most of Christmas day
• Douglas: "Thank you what is it?" (a hat).
• Darlene loved the socks for Joseph and hats for Elizabeth and Lydia.

• Becky's godmother made her a quilt with the exact same color green in it as the blanket I made (and Becky liked them both a lot).
  

• Love was delighted (many times, thanks to her failing memory) with the shawl.
• Bianca liked the bag and washcloths.

Low-lights:

• My father thinks he's already lost his hat (given that I've lost two mittens, one hand-knit for me in the last month, I really shouldn't be complaining)
• When I asked Michael if the kids liked their gifts he didn't say, just mentioning that the box got there (which I take to mean that Kim disliked them)
• James's parents might be moving back to Florida soon, meaning their hats are likely to only get used this winter
• My grandmother doesn't like her scarf

Overall, a success I think. Next year maybe everyone will get socks. I'm working on my first two-at-a-time socks right now, and if that goes well, maybe I'll be able to finish in time for Christmas!

In other knitting-related December Holiday news, boy did I get a lot of knitting stuff! I got point protectors, a Norwegian thimble, four skeins of sock yarn, some Kitpicks knitting needles (as an aside, I've broken down and ordered the Harmony interchangeable set), the Yarn Harlot 2009 calendar, which is now sitting on my desk, and probably several things I'm forgetting. I also got a gift certificate to Stitch House, which I've used to register for a knitting design class (starting tomorrow evening). I'm very excited about that.

So far in 2009, I've worked on the socks mentioned above (Sugar Maple, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes) and the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I'm really liking both projects and will update more with pictures later.