herringbone stitch:
(93 sts)
row 1: *k2tog tbl, slip only first st off needle, repeat from * to next to last st, k1tbl.
row 2: *p2tog, slip only first st off needle, repeat from * to next to last st, p1.

Canada Lace, multiple of 11 sts plus 6
Row 1 (RS): P2, 1/1LC, p2, *yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, p2, 1/1LC, p2; rep from *.
Rows 2 and 4 (WS): *K2, p2, k2, p5; rep from *, end k2, p2, k2.
Row 3: P2, 1/1LC, p2, *k1, yo, [sl1 kwise, k2tog, psso], yo, k1, p2, 1/1LC, p2; rep from *.
Rep rows 1-4 for desired length.

2x2 rib with traveling cable, multiple of 18 sts plus 6

Row 1 (RS): *K2, p2, k2, p3, 1/1RC, p2, 1/1RC, p3; rep from *, end k2, p2, k2.
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8 (WS): Knit the knits and purl the purls.
Row 3: *[K2, p2] 2 times, [1/1RCP, 1/1LCP] 2 times, p2; rep from *, end k2, p2, k2.
Row 5: *[K2, p2] 2 times, k1, p2, 1/1LC, p2, k1, p2; rep from *, end k2, p2, k2.
Row 7: *[K2, p2] 2 times, [1/1LCP, 1/1RCP] 2 times, p2; rep from *, end k2, p2, k2.
Rep rows 1-8 for desired length.

2x2 Two-Stitch Cable Rib, multiple of 4 sts + 2
Row 1 (RS): *P2, k2; rep from *, end p2.
Rows 2 and 4: Knit the knits and purl the purls.
Row 3: *P2, 1/1RC; rep from *, end p2.
Rep rows 1-4 for desired length.
Instead of 1/1RC you may use k2tog but leave sts on needle, knit the first st again, slip both sts off the needle.

1x1 Rib and Cable Combination, multiple of 9 sts + 5
Row 1 (RS): *[p1, k1] 2 times, p1, k4; rep from *, end p1, [k1, p1] 2 times.
Rows 2 and 4: Knit the knits and purl the purls.
Row 3: *[P1, k1] 2 times, p1, 2/2RC; rep from *, end p1, [k1, p1] 2 times.
Rep rows 1-4 for desired length.

I'm spinning yarn on a Louet S10!

My first skein: 4 oz wacky chunky to thread-thin yarn (white Romney). I've dyed it variegated blue with two packets of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade mixed with 6 Tbsp water. It's a good thing I only wanted blue and white--I don't think this would have been enough dye for the whole skein. I wrapped the skein about 60 times around my forearm--will have to figure out how many yards that translates to. Each wrap = 29" so this comes out to 1740", or 48.3 yards. (Is that really it?) The blue color is pretty ugly and garish. I think I will have to overdye it a different color.

My second skein: 4oz. I think it's the same roving. The yarn looks to be mostly DK weight. 172 wraps around my arm, 4988", 140 yards as singles. 88 yards as 2-ply (measured on the laundry room doors: 33 x 48 x 2 = 3168" = 264 feet = 88 yards)
Dyed with Kool-Aid:
1 packet Black Cherry in 1/2 cup water
1 packet Tropical Punch in 1/2 cup water
1 packet Cherry in 1/2 cup water (this seemed to have the most saturated color)
1 packet Cherry plus 1 packet Orange in 1 cup water
I microwaved it for way longer than I would have thought necessary before all the color was absorbed--maybe 10 minutes in total. I lost the handpainted effect when I dumped the last color on, but I think the variegation will come back since the bottom half of the skein was sitting in dye and the top half was not.

It ended up too light; I overdyed it.
4 packets Black Cherry
1 packet Grape
1 packet Cherry

I dissolved the Black Cherry in lots of water, then divided it roughly in thirds. I mixed the grape into one glass, and the cherry into another. I "space-dyed" the centerpull, 2-ply skein rather than unwinding it into a hank again: dyed one side plain Black Cherry, rotated it 1/3 and dyed one side with the grape-tinted mixture, and rotated it again and dyed it with the cherry-tinted mixture. It came out beautiful!

My third skein: More white Romney yarn, 4 oz, roughly DK. I haven't dyed it or calculated yardage yet. Having trouble finding Berry Blue Kool-Aid again--I can't remember where I finally found it last time.

My fourth skein: Somewhat difficult gray and white mixed wool, 4 oz. Very pretty fiber, but I drafted too thick and thin, and it was absolutely full of vegetable matter so I had to stop every few seconds to pick out burrs and wood. 98 wraps around my arm = 79 yards, give or take a bit. Ranges from lace to chunky, mostly worsted, though, I think. I might try knitting this single into a hat.

Colored Tencel, probably 50 yards, probably fingering/sport

Merino, maybe 200 yards, probably sport/DK

Gray angora and Romney? 177 wraps, 21" = roughly 103 yards, probably DK/worsted

Works in progress:
1) Samus from Knitty, with a two-color stranded cabled band of burgundy on gray Cascade Eco Wool, on size 10 needles, size 9 for the body. I'll have to resize the whole body, but the band looks so nice I just don't care. (In progress since fall 2006... what month I have since forgotten, but I was working on the bottom band in Boston last fall, 8/23/06, so I must have started it early or mid-August, shortly after arriving in Bloomington.)
2) Two-color brioche scarf for me, handspun blue two-ply yarn and Brown Sheep Naturespun in Ash, double-stranded on size 13 needles. Started 12/14/06?
3) Fleece-Stuffed Mittens from Favorite Mittens book, started 1/12/07. Size Adult M.
4) Twinkle Shopping Tunic ripoff with Hyacinth Violet Lopi on size 15 needles, started 3/8/07.
5) Seafoam scarf for Mom, Louisa Harding Impression Color 07, Lot 29 (84% nylon and 16% mohair, 50g/154yds/140m, 5sts/", size 6 needle)--soft mallard duck colors of teal, white, brown, and here and there a royal purple, with a soft taupe mohair carried along with it. 26 sts on size 8 needles. Stitch pattern: Rows 1, 2, knit. Row 3, k6, *yo 2, k1, yo 3, k1, yo 4, k1, yo 3, k1, yo 2, k6* to end of row. Row 4, knit, dropping all YOs from needle. Rows 5 and 6, same as 1 and 2. Row 7, same as row 3, but start with k1 instead of k6. Row 8, same as row 4. Started 5/9. Stalled 6/3 because I ran out of yarn after knitting in the car and I left the second skein of this at home.
6) Chunky alpaca scarf, http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~ebozak/knit/esb-patterns/thermal-scarf.html, size 10.5 needles, Misti Alpaca Chunky in brown and navy. Not coming out that great (as far as I can tell by the bad night lighting), so I may need to rip and re-knit with a different pattern, maybe even just stripes.
7) Pomatomus socks, started 5/11/07, size 3 needles, sock 1 finished 8/2/07 in the car on the way to Cleveland. Purple and gray Koigu.
8) Reverse-engineed Orangina in pale green Dalegarn Svale, color 9012, dye lot 7836. I got this for a few bucks a skein from Wild String's closing sale. It's a bit too lite-and-brite for me, but I'll try to think of it as a spring-leafy color. I am knitting 10 repeats of the vine lace panel on my size 3 Boyes--this should hopefully be about 16" for each piece. Will work front and back identically to about 14" (or whatever seems to be a good length) and join to work either 3x3 ribbing or 2x2 ribbing in the round on size 2s. The pattern calls for 3x3, but I accidentally swatched in 2x2 and it seems to flow out of the vine lace pattern pretty well that way. Started 6/6/07.

Yarn to do something with:
- Sweater's worth of green Silky Wool: Phildar swing jacket
- Sweater's worth of sage green Peru Luxury DK: something (Jess?) for Patty
- Sweater's worth of burgundy Peru Luxury DK: Somewhat Cowl
- Sweater's worth of pale blue Jaeger merino DK with one ball of mushroom brown: Jemima
- Sweater's worth of lavender chunky Lopi: in progress--shopping tunic; maybe something else
- handspun DK gray wool
- handspun DK white merino
- handspun chunky brown alpaca
- handspun, hand-dyed red chunky wool: handwarmers
- 1 skein gray Artfibers Ming: Moebius Cowl
- 3? skeins pink Artfibers Tsuki: Butterfly
- less than 1 skein lavender Artfibers Tsuki: Branching Out
- 1.5 skeins Painted Iris Kid Merino
- 2 skeins lavender Koigu: Pomatomus
- 1 skein blue Trekking: Bayerische socks
- 5 skeins red Cascade Indulgence: keyhole top
- recycled yarn from: cream wool sweater, turquoise silk sweater, tan silk sweater
- 3 skeins silver Touch Me: another reworked Vintage Velvet?
- One skein of Noro Aurora. If I can't think of anything else, I'll make another Dream Swatch with it. But that doesn't seem imaginative. Maybe a lace scarf would be nicer. I'm using it in a little scarf now in Ivy stitch, but have stalled, uninspired--started thinking that perhaps I could hold this together with leftover Eco Wool in one strand of a two-strand twisted cable and it would look quite pretty.
- A sweater's worth of gray Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran, and one skein of gorgeously azure Kyoto from Artfibers. I am thinking I'll do a monochromatic but indulgent Fair Isle-style sweater with these two, and maybe other blue and green scraps as well.
- A small sweater's worth of orange, blush, and yellow yarn in the form of a free sweater picked up off the street. I've been meaning to make a scarf and hat set from this, but need to frog and straighten it first, and find just the right pattern.
- Two cones of pale blue, fuzzy acrylic yarn from Yarns Unlimited. I got this really cheap and one of these days I'll cast on with it for Belle Epoque from Knitty. I've been hesitating because it's such a big project.
- A sweater's worth of soft turquoise mohair from a big sale at Greenwich Yarns. Since purchasing the possum yarn (see below) I have decided to scrap the idea of using this for the Greek Pullover, and instead do an asymmetrical raglan split-neck cardigan with big wooden buttons.
- About 2000 yards of beautifully soft cream alpaca purchased for $25/10 skeins off Craigslist. Mmmm. I think I might make Rogue with this.
- Two skeins of laceweight alpaca from Knitpicks (purchased used, cheap). I will use this to make a triangle shawl for my grandma in the lace knitting class I'm taking now.
- Two skeins purple, black, and white Regia self-striping sock yarn. I will make my first socks with this, one of these days.
added after my visit to Sheep Street:
- Leftover Misti Alpaca and lavender yarn to make mittens with (I think)

PARTLY USED UP
- Navy fingering wool and nylon to hold together for a couple of new Odessa hats
- Seven skeins of burgundy Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed. I think I am going to knit a capelet of my own design with this. I was disappointed because the color didn't match for the Samus I had wanted to make, and the yarn seems very stiff and twine-like. I don't know if it will work for the capelet, either, but we'll see.
- About 500 yards of sage green dishcloth cotton from a swap on Knittyboard. I need to find a non-garish pink cotton to go with it so that I can knit a skirt with it. (edit: Was 800 yards, now 500 yards due to having knit Felicity's dress with it)
- A sweater's worth of discontinued black possum worsted from Cherry Tree Hill's Labor Day sale. The plan has changed--I will use this for the Greek Pullover from IK Fall 2005. Once you knit a little with it, it's amazingly soft and fuzzy, like angora.
- Two skeins of beautifully soft royal blue Fonty angora. I think I will hold this together with the rest of my Oriental Jade Cotton Fleece to make an ocean-colored scarf. If not, it might go with the gray and blue sweater, but I don't think any other yarn will hold its own alongside the Kyoto. The color of the angora just looks flat when you look at the two together.
- Three skeins of SWTC Bamboo yarn in Azul (blues, greens, yellows) with which I intend to make a Lotus Blossom Tank from Interweave Knits Summer 2006, with the top converted to Magknits' Ballet Camisole sweetheart neckline.


ALL/MOSTLY USED UP
- Black DK (?) alpaca to do something with
- White silk hankies to dye and hand-spin
- Orange Classic Elite Miracle (alpaca/tencel) for a hat for me--I'm thinking of Shedir from Knitty
- Black Plymouth yarn for a balaclava for Rahul
- A sweater's worth of pink SWTC Optimum yarn. I haven't decided what to do with it--I'm thinking maybe a horizontally cabled yoke, or a large basketweave stitch, the Somewhat Cowl, or cables crossing at the chest like a twinset cardigan.

Notes from "Knitting in the Old Way"

Percentages:
Master number: chest plus ease
Head in a crewneck sweater: 40-45% around
Chest (with set-in sleeves): 30-35% across
Upper sleeve: 35-40% around

Bottom of notch (bound-off sts): 5% each side (8-10% total)
Main sleeve set-in: 15%
Raglan depth from center of sleeve at start of decreases to center of shoulder: 16%

Cuff: 20% around
Hip with ribbing: 90% around

Straight armhole opening to crest of shoulder: 25%
Shoulder slant usually drops 3% from the neck to the top of the armhole, leaving 22% for the length of the shoulder opening to the underarm.

From 100%, subtract 8-10% for stitches bound off level at each armpit, then another 8-10% split between front and back for the area angled by decreases (decrease at both ends of every other row). A total of 32-40% is involved in shaping both armholes. That yields 60-68% in upper body, split equally between front and back.


Sleeve cap:
10% of master number across top

Shaping Cap while Picking Up Stitches
1. Pick up 10% along top of sleeve cap (about 20% of total necessary for sleeve)
2. Slip first stitch, then purl back across these stitches. End the row by picking up 3-4 stitches purlwise along the edge of the armhole. The first must be picked up in the next armhole stitch, just at the end of the sleeve cap stitches, to avoid a hole. Turn.
3. Slip the first stitch and knit across stitches, then pick up 3-4 on other side.
Keep going w/steps 2-3 until you get to shaped sections at bottom of armhole.

Count the stitches you have picked up. Add the number of stitches on holders at the underarm. Subtract this total from the total necessary for the sleeve (50%) and divide by 2. This is the number to pick up along the two remaining shaped edges.

Shaping Cap with Short Rows
1. Pick up all stitches with right side facing, including underarm stitches, starting just before the shoulder seam, at the beginning of Section 1. Pick up about 10% in each of 5 sections (section 1 spans shoulder; section 2 and 3 at upper arms; sections 4 and 5 at lower arms.)
2. When you reach the place where you started to pick up, knit across the top to the end of Section 1, plus 3-4 sts of section 2. Wrap and turn.
3. Purl back across, pick up 3-4 sts of Section 3 at the end, wrap and turn.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, adding 3-4 sts from either side until all sts have been worked.

You can work the short rows without joining the wrapped turns in order to get "full-fashioned marks."

Crewnecks:
regular: 20% across top of neck, 15% across bottom, 40-45% total, 2" deep.
wide: 30% across top of neck, 20% across bottom, 60% total, 2" deep.

Boatnecks: 35-40% across.

Scoopnecks: 25-30% across base, 35-40% across total.


Basic V:
20% across, 20-25% deep, decrease every 3-4 rounds. Reserve 1-2 sts at bottom of neckline.
Wide V: decrease every 2-3 rounds.
Narrow V: decrease every 4-5 rounds.

Shaping short rows: work across all arm sts and part of front body.

Yoke Sweaters
Yoke depth: 25%
Decrease in 3 sections to 40-45% at neck
1. Decrease halfway to neck. k2, k2tog around to decrease 25%.
2. Decrease after 2/3-3/4 of yoke depth. k1, k2tog around to decrease 33%.
3. Decrease at base of neck. k1, k2tog, k2tog around to decrease 40%.

Alternative: work 5 decrease rounds:
1. k8, k2tog
2. k5, k2tog
3. k3, k2tog
4. k2, k2tog
5. k1, k2tog

Finished Objects 2006

1) Garter stitch scarf with anonymous variegated acrylic worsted yarn (blue/purple/green Monet-like colorway) from Michael's. Size 10.5" straight bamboo Clover needles--my magic pair from Skein Lane that showed me the real joy of knitting, unlike the 14"-long size 7 needles from Michael's that made my knitting uncomfortable and made it take forever.

I made this scarf way too wide and got bored before binding off (although it did reach scarf length). I plan on frogging this, perhaps for a small entrelac scarf. This and the next project are both technically twisted-stitch, I guess-I was unintentionally purling through the back loop every time before I looked up the directions again. Finished May 2006?

2) Garter-and-rib scarf for Rahul. 1 3/4 skeins Misti Alpaca Chunky in a dark green heathered color. Garter stitch for a while on either end of the scarf, then 2x2 ribbing in the middle. I should have added garter edges as well--the ribbing pulls in a lot and it looks funny. Size 10 or 10.5" straight needles. Finished June 2006?

3) Ribbed watchcap for Rahul. 1/4 skein Misti Alpaca chunky for the brim, some small amount of wooly gray Lion Brand Homespun for the rest of it. I decreased kind of randomly throughout, so the bumpy texture of the Homespun was a good thing because it disguised the uneven decreases. I learned the Magic Loop technique for this hat, because I was already appalled at how much I was spending on needles. Size 10 or 10.5" circular needles. Finished June 2006?

4) Anthropologie-style shrug from peonyknits.blogspot.com. 3 skeins of creamy white Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra knit on size 10 circular needles. I used up every last inch of the yarn and had to cut pieces from the long tails and join them in order to finish the last sleeve. Even so, it was a little too small (I should have used larger needles, I think) and I think I'll give it to Serena for her birthday. I learned yarnovers, and all the basic techniques of a top-down raglan sweater. I wish I had known how to join new yarn by felting the ends together--I had about five billion little ends to weave in on the sleeve made of lots of yarn pieces, and it took forever, and because of the chunkiness of the yarn, you can see annoying lumpy diagonal lines everywhere where I wove in the ends. Still, the yarn is luscious--silk and cashmere. Finished July 26, 2006.

5) The Dream Swatch, from The Garter Belt. I did three repeats of the pattern instead of four. Knit with one skein of luscious hand-dyed silk/wool yarn from Deep Color in Kensington--soft vegetable-dyed shades of subtle Southwestern orange, yellow, green, and blue, with a lustrous sheen. I think I used size 10 needles. I learned how to cross stitches over each other on the needles. I get a lot of compliments on this headband when I wear it out. Finished July 29, 2006.

6) Tempting, from Knitty. Despite the designer's note about choosing a size with negative ease, I made the 36" size (2" ease) with 2 3/4 skeins of Cascade 220, "The Heathers," in a lavender color, and it fit perfectly. My modifications: I did ssk (before body, after sleeves)/k2tog (after body, before sleeves) decreases at 4 markers on this to make the neckline narrower, I knit the sleeves and the body longer than recommended, and I knit a 5" yoke instead of the recommended 6" yoke. In retrospect, I wish I had done what another knittyboard person suggested, and done 8 decreases instead of 4--the ssk/k2tog leaning towards each other and bringing the ribbing to a point, instead of the ribbing slanting constantly inwards in a faux-raglan style. I perfected Magic Loop with this, and learned to put sleeve stitches on waste yarn, knit the sleeves, and then join them on later. Essentially, I learned the skills necessary to make any bottom-up yoked sweater knit in the round. I also learned the 3-needle bind-off and how to ssk, and (from a friendly girl working at Stash Yarn) how to drop stitches so you can redo them with a crochet hook. I wish I had learned this technique when I first started the sweater, instead of when I was most of the way through--because I knit most of this on the bus, I made a lot of mistakes in the ribbing, knitting where I should have purled and vice versa, with the result that I only feel comfortable wearing the sweater in an informal environment instead of a fancy one as the ribbon would suggest. I finished the knitting with a pale silver-gray ribbon from Hobby Lobby in Bloomington. Size 8 circular needles. Finished August 1, 2006.

7) Green Gable, from Zephyr Style. I knit the 36" size and it fits just about perfectly (maybe a little bit tight)--I made the sleeves a little bit longer and the body substantially longer (I had already bound off, put on the shirt, and realized it rides up to show my tummy like all my store-bought shirts, so I unraveled the ribbing and added a few inches). Knit with 2 skeins plus a tiny bit of a third skein of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Oriental Jade. I messed up the lace a little bit, but it's not at all obvious. I also accidentally made a little yarnover in the back of the sweater, but again, not obvious. I will definitely wear this in public once it's seamed--I think it looks really nice. Knit on size 6 circular needles with additional size 4 for ribbing. Finished at Partners Club Craft Night, August 21, 2006. All ends woven in almost a month later, September 14, 2006.

8) Reversible Lotus Hat from Cat Bordhi's A Treasury of Magical Knitting. This was such an interesting hat to knit! I learned the Moebius Cast-On, obviously--the moebius strip grows fascinatingly outwards from the center, in one piece--and some lace knitting, and knitting on 2 circulars for small circumferences instead of doing Magic Loop, and spit-joining two pieces of yarn, which worked wonderfully with this very wooly, soft, but knotty yarn (I ended up with 5 different little skeins from one 220-yard hank because there were so many knots I had to cut out). Knit on size 10 circular needles (two pairs for the smaller part of the crown--one size 9 needle on each one to hold the stitches, and the size 10 to knit them off the size 9 of the other needle), with the fuzzy, pretty, hand-dyed variegated lavender from Wyoming Wool Works in Dubois. I don't care for the reverse side--it looks a bit like a pinecone--but the right side looks very flowery and pretty, in my opinion. Finished August 28, 2006.

9) Odessa, from Magknits. I knit this using about 3/4 of a skein of Dalegarn Baby Ull in navy blue, with silver seed beads, casting on 140 stitches instead of 110 and knitting on size 2/size 3 needles instead of size 4/size 6. It has a ton of mistakes, but hopefully the sparkly beads distract from the screw-ups where I ended up with the wrong number of repeats at the end of a round and just ignored it.

Things I learned: bead knitting, creating a spiral hat using a bias pattern, knitting on really tiny needles.

It's for the September Knit the Classics challenge--knitting a project related to The Time Traveler's Wife. More later.

10) A green cotton dress with a deep, lace-up v-neck, seed stitch bodice, and ruffled sleeves for Serena's doll Felicity, with lavender stomacher knit in King Charles Brocade pattern and edged in green crochet. It came out way too big, apparently.

11) Mosaic-knit keyhole scarf in black Misti Alpaca Chunky and hand-dyed lavender yarn (from the same skein I used for the Reversible Lotus hat, so now I have a matching set, yay!) Knit on size 10 needles, with a little bit less than 1 skein of the Alpaca--yardage of the lavender yarn unknown. I will type up my pattern and size notes later. It's pleasingly dizzying, although I'm not crazy about the color combination. I finished it Sunday, 9/25/06, while watching Kill Bill on our brand-new cable, and debuted it shortly thereafter at the Calexico concert at the Buskirk-Chumley.

12) A second Odessa in navy blue, this time without beads. Destined for Rahul or Walt (we'll see how Rahul feels about it tomorrow, once he's examined it). Finished Wednesday, 9/27/06, after only about three days of knitting. I guess, since I worked on it at Craft Night and again tonight while watching TV, that this works out to perhaps 8 hours of labor--doesn't feel like it, though, it felt like such a quick knit!

This one was knit using almost an entire skein of Le Fibre Nobili Merino 4020, Lot 7250 (a very smooth and luscious, springy dark navy yarn; gauge oddly not given on label, but size 2-3 needles suggested)--158 meters, with maybe 30 meters remaining? and perhaps 3/4 of a skein of Sirdar Snuggly 4-ply, from a skein of 247 yards, again navy blue, 30 sts/inch, held together as one strand. It made a thick, cushy fabric on the recommended size 4 and 6 needles. I didn't take gauge because I figured it wasn't crucial for a hat.

I think I knit the body of the hat too long (not having a tape measure handy, I eyeballed against a folded sheet of 8.5 x 11" paper, and then suddenly realized that while I had been thinking I needed to knit to more than half the length of the folded paper to get 5.5", I was actually measuring against the 11" side, not the 8.5" side, and I now had maybe 6 or 6.5" on the body of the hat. I guess it's OK, I don't know how big Walt's head is, and I know Rahul's is bigger than mine. I put it on and it looks fine with the ribbing turned up--too big with the ribbing flat.

Everything went swimmingly with the pattern because I learned from last time and placed stitch markers every 10 stitches. I apparently forgot to yarnover a lot of times--but this time I caught it before getting to the end of the round! So it's nearly perfect this time, aside from a little wabi-sabi in the initial 3x2 ribbing.

13) A felted purse out of 1 skein of Natural Blue Patons SWS on size 10.5 needles. Finished October 9 2006. Twisted i-cord handles and cables up the front and sides (whose stitch definition disappeared under felting... but the contrast stripe effect of the fair isle cable is still nice.) I fastened it with a gorgeous little pale-blue Ribby (Beatrix Potter) button bought for $3 at Tender Buttons on Rush Street in Chicago. A ripoff, but the button was so perfect. I gave this to Jeanne for her birthday; Ribby the cat looks like her cat Baila, a brown tabby.

13.5) One of Kate Gilbert's Gifted mittens, knit into a convertible mitten from the purple hand-dyed and black Misti Alpaca on 10 1/2s, with a tragic gauge error (2.5 sts/inch instead of 3.25) causing a ginormous mitten that had to be frogged. I will try to make mittens again later, but am thinking of test-driving a self-designed wristlet/mitten pattern from the top down.

14) My new favorite scarf, the "Child's Rainbow Scarf" from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. It's 23 stitches of mistake-rib on size 11 needles, alternating between two skeins of Patons SWS, with two rows per stripe (always bring yarn in front). I used one skein of Natural Navy (70130, dye lot 156730? 6) and one skein of Natural Plum (70310, dye lot 156735 6). Started 10/15, if I remember correctly, finished 10/19. I added fringe, wrapped around the 8 1/2" side of a magazine and cut on one edge. I divided the fringe into 10 sections and placed one fringe grouping on each purl dip in the rib pattern. I tied one set of knots in the fringe (knot half of the fringe in each group to its neighbor) for more visual interest.

I like mistake rib. The pattern is k2, p2, end k1, on both sides. It took some thinking to deconstruct what this actually means. You get one-stitch oclumns of knit and purl separated by one-stitch columns of garter stitch. The effect is a softer, less defined ribbing that spreads out more than k2p2 rib would by itself.

I also like this yarn choice. SWS is silky and glossy (and so loosely spun that it tends to unspin itself by the end of the skein, so you feel like you're working with little fingerfuls of hair--the surface is a tiny bit fuzzy now, and I hope it doesn't pill and mat too much with use) and it's so fun to watch the colors change--I wasn't bored at all with this simple stitch pattern; just wanted to keep going to see how the colors unfolded against one another. There was a bit too much brown in both skeins, leading to areas of icky brown on brown. The Natural Plum colorway is primarily more of a hot pink/fuschia color than a real plum color; there was one short stretch of breathtaking deep plum purple juxtaposed against a sophisticated gray, and I wish there had been more of that. The Natural Navy colorway is almost all tans, browns, grays, and blacks, with very little actual blue, but it seems like a sophisticated and manly colorway when used by itself (instead of with hot pink).

I'm considering getting more of this with the Joann's 40% off coupons and making Fetching and Tychus from Knitty so I can have a whole matching winter set.

The super-loose gauge made the yarn go farther and drape beautifully. I think the mistake-rib stitch creates enough air pockets that I won't be cold (famous last words! We'll see.) Finished width, unstretched, is 4". Stretched to more or less its widest, it's 12"! The fringe is about 6.5" long. The scarf overall, unstretched, is about 66" long, not including the fringe. Perfect.

There are a few wabi-sabi bits to this--one place where I got tired of the drab colorway in the Navy skein and cut the centerpull strand so I could work from the navy blue on the outside, and you can see a loose, bumpy, funny place on the edge where I switched yarns and wove in ends. I think I made a mistake a few rows into the mistake-rib pattern, while I was watching The Seagull's Laughter and knitting at the same time, but I can't really tell if it's a mistake or if it just looks odd because of the color change on that row. Also, there are random spots in the fringe that I find too short... I trimmed it to a more or less even length throughout, but there are a few strands that are still bothering me.

I'm surprised that people knitting drop-stitch scarves from this stuff are using size 13s! Size 11 was already fearfully loose.

Anyway. My new favorite scarf (except for a few I didn't make--my pashminas, and the brown and rainbow mohair scarf my mom gave me). I like it very much.

15) Knucks in black alpaca (I'll have to find the ball band later) on size 3 DPNs. Finished 10/31, started maybe a week before (but the fingers languished in my bag for a few days before I started the work on the hand). I like the fact that you do all the fiddly work on the fingers before diving into the hand--getting all the hand knitting done and then working the fingers seems like it could be soul-crushing. The thumb gusset is too long, they itch a little, and the ribbing is a little too tight at the bind-off despite using a stretchy bind-off (*k2tog tbl, place st back on left needle, rep from *), but otherwise I like them a lot--they're warm and nice and fast! I might add a convertible mitten flap to these later.

This was my first project on DPNs and it wasn't too bad. They do tend to kind of flop around a lot, but it gets better once you've worked a few rows. I do like them for tiny circumferences like the fingers. I didn't have enough DPNs to do the pattern like it asked, but I found that I was happily able to dispense with a stitch marker by dividing the stitches unevenly--5, 5, and 4--and when I got to the needle with 4 sts on it I knew I was back at the end of the round.

15.5) Added a mitten flap and thumb flaps to my Knucks, secured with vintage buttons from Cactus Flower--two large greeny-black ones for the mittens, and small silver-gray shell ones for the thumbs.
Instructions are as follows (added as modifications to the medium size of Knucks):

Mitten shell:
Size 3 DPNs, fingering weight yarn, gauge unknown.

CO 42 sts and join to work in the round.

Work in 1x1 ribbing for 10 rows.

Divide stitches onto 2 needles. With a third needle, pick up 21 sts at the knuckles by running the needle through the right half of each stitch. Place the stitches from the two needles over/around the fingers of the glove, and then join the stitches as for a 3-needle bindoff, essentially working a k2tog with one stitch from the ribbing needle and one stitch from the glove knuckles, until you have two needles with 21 stitches each on them. There will be 21 sts of ribbing around the palm of the glove that is not connected to anything; this will be the part of the mitten that folds back over the hand.

Knit 20 rows in stockinette stitch (work more or fewer rows, depending on where you picked up stitches).

When you are about 1/2 to 1/4 inch from your fingertips, begin decreases:
k2tog, k5 around: 36 sts
k 1 rd even
k2tog, k4 around: 30 sts
k 1 rd even
k2 tog, k3: 24 sts
k2 tog around: 12 sts
k2 tog around: 6 sts
Divide the 6 sts onto 2 needles and perform a 3-needle bindoff.
Leave a long tail.

Pick up three sts at the tip of the mitten, trying to pick up sts evenly around the top rather than three sts that are adjacent to one another. Using the long tail from the bindoff, begin knitting i-cord on these three sts until you have enough to go snugly around your chosen button. Bind off the three sts, draw the yarn through the final loop, and then use it to sew the end of the i-cord down in a button loop. Weave in all ends.

When working the mate, make sure you attach the mitten flap to the opposite side, so that you have a matching set of mittens instead of two of the same.

Thumb flap:

Cast on 16 sts and join to work in the round.

Work 4 rows of 1x1 ribbing and divide sts onto two needles.

Try on glove, and pick up 8 sts across the back of the thumb using a third needle, one row below the edge of the thumb if possible.

Attach the thumb flap from the two needles as for the mitten flap, and work 10 rows in stockinette stitch (again, more or less as desired for your particular thumb).

Decrease the top of the thumb:
sl1-k2tog-psso all the way around: 4 sts remaining.
Cut a long tail, run the yarn through these sts, and pull closed.

Pick up three sts and work i-cord for a button loop as for the mitten flap.

16) Blue Pomatomus "mermaid" gloves. Very pretty from far away. I think these will be a Christmas present for Patty. Finished 11/21/06, started maybe a week ago. Size 3 DPNs, about 1/2 to 3/4 of a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Jeans.

I have a violently strong, bower bird-like attraction to the colors in this yarn, which move from a soft, clear, bright blue, a little deeper than sky blue, through a gray-violet color into navy and pure dove gray. I'd been eyeing it at Yarns Unlimited and finally, after making the first pair of Knucks and realizing I could handle it, caved and bought a skein. I have half a skein left over now and need to make something else for myself with it... I'm toying with the idea of trying out entrelac, or buying another skein and knitting a seafoam pattern scarf--maybe with some sparkly beads? It has to be something I can admire while I'm wearing it. I could even try making myself another pair of fingerless mitts (though probably real fingerless mittens, not fingerless gloves).

So these gloves are essentially Knucks with the Pomatomus Chart A stitch pattern applied. I accidentally messed up two things on these: neglected the "move pattern one stitch over" instruction in the actual written instructions for Pomatomus and somehow didn't realize that I hadn't knitted the second thumb before starting the second glove... so I got to the gusset and had to do a provisional cast-on for the gusset stitches, then later pick them up and knit the thumb upwards, leading to a weird jog in the ribbing.

Here's the math and other mods:
- Pinky: 12 sts, 1x1 rib, 10 rows.
- Ring, middle, thumb, and index: 16 sts, 1x1 rib, 10 rows.
- On joining row, do not k2tog and ssk. (Actually, my mistake in not realizing the stitch count would no longer be a multiple of 12 after decreasing. Didn't seem to make a difference)
- Carefully match up ribbing on fingers when arranging on needles to join--make sure the 1x1 rib alternates on adjacent fingers.
- Knit one round of 1x1 rib to join, then start Pomatomus Chart A. (60 sts = 5 repeats)
- Work to row 18 of the chart, then join the thumb: place it on the needles with a stitch marker separating it from the main part of the hand. Continue working the chart on the hand, and work 1x1 rib on the thumb.
- While continuing to work from the chart for the hand, work 4 rows even on the thumb and then begin gusset decreases--reach first marker, k2tog tbl, 1x1 rib to last 2 sts before second marker, ssk.
- When there are two stitches remaining, k2tog.
- When there is one stitch remaining, remove marker and ssk with adjacent stitch.
- Continue knitting until row 13 of pattern (or as long as you want) and then switch to 1x1 rib for the cuff.
- Use symmetrical decreases in gusset area to reduce cuff by 4 to 6 sts (for a comfortable fit on my wrists, which are fairly small).
- Knit 10 rows on the cuff and bind off with the sewn bind-off. (For future gloves, the cuff should probably be longer. I was afraid of running out of yarn, so made it the minimum reasonable length)
- When weaving in ends, use "darning" technique to weave first horizontally, then vertically between fingers to close up the holes, and then begin weaving ends along the yarnover columns to reduce the size of the eyelets. After weaving in a bit, use the tail from the wrist bind-off to crochet a sc chain at the edge of the cuff, directly under the thumb, so you can hang up the gloves on a hook for storage.

17) A green and pink dishcloth with sage-green Bernat Handicrafter Cotton and variegated candy-pink and white Sugar 'n' Cream cotton. I used the Clouds and Mountains pattern from Barbara Walker Book 1, on 30 stitches, with green as color A and pink as color B (I actually meant to do it the other way around.) A is the color with the smooth central triangles, B is the color with the garter triangles and long slipped stitches.

Multiple of 8 sts plus 6.

Cast on with A and purl one row (WS).

1 (RS). With B, knit.
2 and 4. With B, k6, *sl2 wyif, k6; rep from *.
3. With B, k6, *sl2 wyib, k6; rep from *.
5 and 7. With A, k6, *sl2 wyib, k6; rep from *.
6 and 8. With A, p6, *sl2 wyif, k6; rep from *.
9. With B, knit.
10 and 12. With B, k2, *sl2 wyif, k6; rep from *, end sl2, k2.
11. With B, k2, *sl2 wyib, k6; rep from *, end sl2, k2.
13 and 15. With A, k2, *sl2 wyib, k6; rep from *, end sl2, k2.
14 and 16. With A, p2, *sl2 wyif, p6; rep from *, end sl2, p2.
Repeat rows 1-16.

Work 2 repeats, then work to row 11. Work 3 rows of reverse stockinette stitch, then bind off. When weaving in the last end of Color A, dip down to weave in over the two Color B purl bumps in each pair of slip stitches, and pull tight. This should give a slightly scalloped edge to help match the cast-on.

18 and 18.5) Two-color brioche hat from this site: http://megan.cc/BiColourHat/
for CHT for Christmas. One strand is black Plymouth Encore Worsted, the other is Patons SWS in Natural Navy (a mix of gray, navy, black, and brown--predominately brown, in this hat).

I started by casting on 72 sts on size 10.5 needles; got to the top, finished it, and realized it was big enough to house a small family--about 29" in diameter, unstretched, or about 2.5 cast-on stitches per inch. My earlier measurements were taken when the needle was holding the stitches below it close together.

I frogged the whole thing and reknit it with 44 sts cast on. The top decreases are much messier than I would like, and I'm worried the hat will be too tight now. I haven't gotten up the gumption to re-frog and re-knit yet again, though. I might just make a new hat for him instead.

Started 11/22/06, finished 11/24/06 and 11/25/06.

19) Vertical drop-stitch scarf for Serena, for Christmas. One skein of Patons SWS in Natural Geranium makes a scarf you can tie around your neck once, in a decorative way. The stripes are a gorgeous pale petal pink, fuchsia, subtle dusty purple-rose, and tan. I think it's about 4" wide and 4' long. I used two repeats of the Vertical Drop-Stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's First Treasury--22 sts, maybe?

The pattern is roughly this:
Setup row: K1, *p2, k1, yo, k1, p2, k2*, repeat from * to end, p2, k1.
Rows 1, 3, 5: p1, *k2, p2, k2, p3, k2,* repeat from * to end, k2, p1.
Rows 2, 4: k1, *p2, k3, p2, k2*, p2, k1.
Row 6: k1, *p2, k1, drop 1, k1, p2, k1, yo, k1,* p2, k1.
Rows 7, 9, 11: p1, *k2, p3, k2, p2,*, k2, p1.
Rows 8, 10: k1, *p2, k2, p2, k3,* p2, k1.
Row 12: k1, *p2, k1, yo, k1, p2, k1, drop 1, k1,* p2, k1.

Size 10.5 needles. Started 11/24/06, finished 11/25/06.

20) A mini-Clapotis scarf for Mom for Christmas. This took FOREVER, even though I didn't make it that wide. Knit from hand-dyed fingering-weight rayon in jewel tones--burgundy, copper, deep green, with a nice sheen. It took about 200 yards, I think. My spinning teacher Robin dyed the yarn. I think the scarf is about 6" wide and 5' long. I will count the dropped stitches when I get home.

I loved this pattern at first: so simple and elegant! So much fun to drop the stitches! I started to really hate it after so much mindless knitting on tiny needles for so little progress--and after I messed up a few repeats, irrevocably, by placing the marker after too many or too few stitches, or somehow shifting the marker one stitch before or after the yarnover, leading to a loose, sloppy edge stitch. The increasing and decreasing somehow got totally messed up during one of these mistaken repeats, so I had to count the stitches and think the pattern through for each repeat before placing the marker or dropping the stitch.

The problem with Clapotis is that if you suddenly realize you've placed the marker after 6 stitches instead of 5, you can't just shift the marker before dropping the stitch, because of all those twisted stitches you put into place around the edges of the stitches you're planning to drop.

The good thing, though, is that the pattern looks ripply anyway, so the "off" columns don't look too terrible if you tell yourself they were done that way on purpose.

Having finished it, I have to say it is supremely satisfying once you get to the end and start decreasing and dropping stitches from both ends, and I might make another one sometime, but definitely with worsted weight yarn instead of fingering weight. The size 3 needles are a killer on something this size, but I had to go down a few needle sizes to get a solid fabric after swatching on size 5--the dropped stitches just don't stand out and look nice against a loopy, open background.

Size 3 needles. Started probably October 21 or so; finished, after a lot of knitting, on 11/27/06.

21) Triangular dayflower lace shawl for Grandma. Size 10.5 needles, the same fingering weight black alpaca I used for the Knucks, probably about 400 yards. The skein was 600 yards, and the Knucks probably took about 150 yards, and there's definitely less than 100 yards left. Started 11/27/06, finished knitting Thursday 12/7/06, finished blocking Friday 12/8/06.

This shawl came out gorgeous, the perfect size for me, at least, although maybe too big for Grandma? It's all drapey and lacey and pretty, but I had such a horrible experience with this a couple of days before I finished it. I twisted the edging while knitting it on about 6" from the end. At 1:30 in the morning, after knitting the last row, I held it up and discovered my mistake! The next day, after a good night's sleep and some encouraging advice on the Knittyboard, I frogged the edging back (it was only about 4 repeats) and re-knit it. The edging looked like a crumpled, tight ruffle before blocking. After blocking, it opened up into a loose, lacey frill.

It's really pretty, and the body of the shawl worked up really fast. (The edging took as long as the main shawl!) I keep going in the other room, where it's draped on my yarn cabinet, and petting it. I might rework it and try to submit the pattern somewhere, so I won't publish the pattern on my blog right now.

The dayflower lace panel cascades down the center of the back. I was afraid when I first started that the lace would be too open for the pattern to come through, but it was fine, in the end, and I'm glad my fellow Partners at Craft Night encouraged me to keep knitting with the big needles.

Finished size is 74" wide x 27" (measured down the middle). The dayflower lace panel and the lace edging are both roughly 5" wide after blocking.

I put in a single repeat of the lace all along the bottom edge, but it looks too abrupt, so if I rework the pattern I'll either eliminate it entirely or use a different lace pattern with smaller elements.

22) Drop-stitch scarf for Lulu for Christmas, started and finished 12/10/06. I used exactly one skein of Lion Brand Incredible ribbon yarn in variegated blues ("Blue Shades," 110 yards, color 202/lot #47018, and about 3/4 skein of one 108-meter skein of incredibly soft and expensive (original MSRP $20) Laines Fonty Coeur d'Angora, 80% angora and 20% merino wool, color 207/log 226904 (royal blue). Using size 15 needles, with the two yarns held together, I cast on 10 stitches and worked until the yarn was almost gone, in the very easy drop-stitch pattern that follows:
Row 1: k1, wrapping yarn twice around needle.
Row 2: k1, dropping all extra yo's.
At the end, I made fringe with the remaining ribbon, plus some yarn, by wrapping around the short end of a DVD and snipping along one side.

It worked up incredibly quickly. I like the colors and the way the shiny nylon ribbon looks together with the fuzzy angora, but the ribbon is too thick; it doesn't lie flat like a narrower ribbon would, so it doesn't look as elegant as the $40 Anny Blatt kits I had seen in Stash Yarns that I was trying to emulate. It is very economical, though, with one skein of two different yarns working up into a 58" x 4" scarf, with 5" of fringe on either end--long enough to fold double and pull the ends through, or wrap around the neck once or twice--or a bit too long if you just tie it around your neck.

23) Cabled earflap hat for Rahul for Christmas. Used perhaps 1/2 skein of Plymouth Encore Worsted in black, size 8 needles. Started maybe 12/1/06? Finished 12/13/06.

24) Fake Isle hat with MC = Plymouth Encore Worsted in black, CC = Patons SWS in Natural Navy, for Dad for Christmas. It came out really nicely, I think, but I pulled the floats too tight at the top and so am aggressively blocking now over a bowl to get the top flattened out and not so pointy and bottle-shaped. I'm glad the contrast color was SWS, as I suspect it blocks much better (being mostly wool) than the Encore (being mostly acrylic). It was a very fast knit, too, maybe 5 hours total? Size 6 needles, size S/M, started late in the evening of 12/13/06, ribbing frogged and re-started once, then finished late in the evening of 12/14/06. The hat seems to be a bit too long for me after blocking, but we'll see again when it's dry, and I bet it will be a good size for Dad, because his head is presumably slightly bigger than mine. If not, it should be OK with the ribbing turned up.

I messed up my stitch count and had to M1 twice when starting Chart 2, leaving a big hole, but it seems to have been fixed nicely with duplicate stitch. The little snowflakes at the bottom of Chart 2 might be a bit off due to this, but it's hard to tell.

The SWS striped to black at one point so I might use some of the leftover to duplicate-stitch into the middle, where the hat is one big black stripe, to add some additional visual interest. Or maybe not. It looks quite subtle and masculine right now, I think.

25) Beaded votive sleeve for candle, for Tim and Millie, started and finished 12/14/06. I still need to do at least one more to match it, though! Pre-string red silver-lined 8* pony beads and 6 mm faceted Czech garnet glass beads onto 28 gauge silver-colored wire. CO 15 sts on size 7 needles and knit, stringing beads randomly every few sts, until the sleeve is long enough to go around a little candle--a little over 6". Bind off using sewn bind-off. Use one of the yarn tails to graft or sew the beginning of the votive to the end.

This makes a very tall sleeve, so I think probably 11 or 12 sts cast on would be sufficient. Also, the fabric is somewhat floppy, so 26 gauge would probably work better (although this wire is easy to work with and can be cut with scissors.)

26) Cabled reversible scarf for Grandpa, using the pattern from the Lion Brand website. I can't remember now if I used up 2 skeins of the Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed in Burgundy, or 3. 3 seems more likely, but I still have 4 skeins left and I thought I only had 600 yards of this stuff. The scarf was quite short before blocking, but after a nice shampoo and conditioner wash, it softened up a bit and became a lot longer (10"?), probably about 60-65", the perfect length. I hated the yarn--it was scratchy, thin, hard, and kept pulling apart and breaking, but I have to say the scarf draped pretty nicely and looked really lovely and classy on him when completed! I started this maybe 11/27/06, finished it 12/23/06. Knit on size 8 needles.

27) Garterlac dishcloth, started and finished 12/25/06, knit on size 8 needles, using a free pattern from Criminy Jickets. After many false starts with squares going the wrong direction, I finally got this garterlac thing to work out and I quite liked it. I gave the cloth to Dad and Patty. I got two slip-stitch dishcloths and most of this (large) garterlac dishcloth out of one ball of variegated pink dishcloth cotton. I had to knit one square, one side triangle, and the top triangles out of a variegated blue because I ran out of the pink.