Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Most Adorable Project...

Yesterday evening I finished the Baby Alligator Scarf and it is so cute!!!! I love how it came out. I'd bought the kit (kit = pattern + 1 skein of yarn) from Morehouse Farms and the project went very well! It was an easy knit. But I did get help from one of the experienced ladies at KAB, who helped me make "crochet puff" eyeballs, and I just threaded some black yarn in for the center portion. I absolutely love it.

So you can get the baby gator kit, or the adult sized one. Folks on Ravelry said the adult scarf came out a bit short, and they added extra rows of bumps on the gator's back. I found this to be the case with the baby alligator pattern, as well - so I added 2 extra rows. It's still short, but I have a feeling that this scarf is just as much of a toy/novelty as it is a functional scarf - I could see a little one just dragging it around with him, or playing with it, rather than wearing it, which would give me just as much enjoyment anyway, so I didn't worry too much about lengthening it any more. But there was enough yarn left on the skein that it could have been longer if you wanted it to be.

As for the texture of the yarn - it's merino yarn (sportweight), which many people commented on, saying that this Morehouse type is quite rough and scratchy. It is, and you can find softer yarn out there, but others said that too soft of a yarn, and the bumps will collapse too easily. I though the yarn was just fine. It'll probably soften after use and washings anyway. I did purchase a new pair of bamboo needles to knit this project on - I'd tried to use the $2 plastic ones in my collection, but with all of the M1 stitches in the pattern, the plastic ones just bent to easily and my fingers ached when I repeatedly had to manually pull open the M1 stitch to complete it. Everyone knocks my cheap (frugal), day-glow neon colored (brightly colored), straight needle collection, but hey, they're fine for many projects. Just not this one. Some people just use circular needles all the time, in place of straight and DPN needles. And I think at some point in the future, I'll break down and get the Addi-Turbo interchangeable set, but that's an expensive set and I'm holding off. For what, I don't know. Probably until I have the feeling that I'm an experienced enough knitter to warrant the investment. I think the fact that they're metal puts me off, as I've had horrible experiences using metal DPNs before (where my stitches has slipped off the practically frictionless needles)... but... I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I cave and succumb to modern technology.

Speaking of technology - I never seem to be on the cutting edge, or even the dull butter knife edge, for that matter. I'm probably the only person on earth to not have a facebook page (although that's largely by personal choice, not technology limitations). And I prefer hand-written thank you notes to e-mails, and scrap-books to Shutterfly photo books. But - I do think I am a cutting edge technology theorist: I did tell Jason a year or so ago "hey they should make 'portable Internet' at some point", to which I received a hearty laugh, an eyeball roll, and a "Cindy-Lou Who" pat on the head followed by the "silly wife..." comment. And wouldn't you know it - now they have Mi-Fi (which I may be getting along with an iTouch). I would like that eyeball roll stricken from the record, please, since this is proof that I'm a technology VISIONARY. (Just not someone good at actually using it.)

Monday, March 1, 2010

February Projects

Happy March! I spent February watching the Winter Games and knitting up a storm. I finished up a couple quick projects - one not so quick - and started a new one. Here's the latest:

The baby jacket is complete. I LOVE this Ambiante yarn, particularly the color scheme and the way it knits up. I am very happy with this jacket - I do think it came out a bit long, so it will definitely be a jacket and not just a sweater. I did follow the pattern to a T. Well... almost. You're supposed to knit 10 garter ridge rows between each button hole row. But that count depends on whether you count the button hole row as a garter ridge row or not. I did not (because I am a strict, "by the book", rules-oriented person), and therefore I may have actually put 11 garter ridge rows between each button hole. One extra row is no big deal, but do that every time for 5 buttons, and you've added an extra inch of length to the project. I just tell myself that since DH and I are tall people, and our baby will be tall too, so having a garment that is an inch too long will actually work out better for him. Let's go with that.

What else - oh, I finished these "outdoor work gloves" for Jason (they are actually just fingerless mits, but I changed the name of them to make them seem more appealing to him. But I think he's on to me by now...). I convinced him that he could use a pair for raking (not that we rake) or working on the car (not that we do our own automotive maintanence) or at a minimum, wear them when we go for walks in the evening (that we actually do!).
Once again, they came out a bit long, so in this photo, he just folded the cuff back once. What is wrong with me? I think I have this fear of ending a project too quickly and having it be too short/small, but I realize that ending it too late and having a product that's too long is just as bad. But these are still functional! DH did say to me - "these are great, but maybe you can make me another pair that's shorter. And in a different color. And that isn't as tight on the thumbs". He is so sweet. Fair enough. I'll put that in queue. Deli ticket # 295, now serving # 3.

Have you heard of City Bakery in NYC? I was supposed to go there for their Annual Hot Chocolate Festival and Knitting Night, but by the time I went to purchase a ticket on-line, they were sold out! I was so sad - so sad, in fact, that one of my good friends at work took me out for a pity dinner at the Melting Pot in Hoboken (thanks so much Kerry! You are so kind)!. Anyway, Purl Soho (which is moving locations, I hear) was going to be one of the featured vendors. They posted this cute pattern for "Chocolate Bar Coasters".
I knit them because believe it or not, I've never knit with 2 strings of color before, and I wanted to learn! This whole time, I've been relying on varigated or self-striping yarn to make colorful projects! So the brown and white coasters were a perfect project to learn how to use 2 strands of color. The pattern for the striped coasters reminds me of those ski sweaters from the 70's! I'll have to visit City Bakery some time soon. Perhaps with Junior!

Speaking of Junior - I just started this adorable "Baby Alligator" scarf from Morehouse Farms. It looks so cute!!! Maybe this is my way of nesting, before the baby is here? I keep thinking "what if I'm too busy to knit when the baby is here, maybe I should get this done now?!?!?" Could happen. I just think it's so fun to knit for babies. The projects are so small and they knit up quickly - it's very rewarding. I just started the scarf last night, and I was just able to knit the snout: I think I'm going to make an excel table that corresponds to the pattern because lots of folks on Ravelry said keeping track of the number of repeats for the gator's back is confusing. Being an engineer (albeit a practicing engineer many, many moons ago), I am convinced there's nothing excel can't fix or be utilized for!

In a completely un-related random sidebar, the baby shower was 2 saturdays ago. I'd made these "Bird in the Nest" cupcakes for everyone to enjoy during the shower.
Thank you so much to you wonderful ladies (friends and family) for coming over and sharing this special event with me! I'm not sure if any of you are regular readers of this blog (or even casual readers!), but I still wanted to express my gratitude! The gifts were so generous! DH and I are just amazed and how giving people have been - I have 3 co-workers that gave us tons and tons of baby clothes, in addition to baby gear (including strollers, bouncy seats, toys, etc.) and wouldn't accept any payment or donation in return. Amazing. I really had a wonderful time at the shower - we are so lucky to have you all in our lives! I hope you all had as nice of an afternoon as I did!!!