my little helpers

This is what it's like around here. Try to take a photo of a handknit baby blanket?

You end up with a sweet little feline model helping you out.

pattern: zig and zag sock yarn pram baby blanket, by Debbie Orr

yarn: knit picks felici sport self-striping, "too cool," 4 skeins

needles: US 6 Clover bamboo circs (4.0 mm)

my Ravelry project page

notes:
Easy pattern that doesn't involve too much concentration. It knit up quickly (mainly on the plane and while waiting in airports), but the end result is a pretty tiny blanket. Definitely a pram or carseat blanket.

Try working at the computer? (Or in this case, take a break and catch up on my Google Reader feed.)

The results are similar. Silly cats. They are such sweethearts, though.

what a difference a few days make

Sunshine, 80+ degrees, a light breeze... the whole city of Chicago looks so much happier now. Our backyard now truly is showing signs of spring:

The flowering tree outside our back porch just burst into full bloom:

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I started packing away my winter sweaters, and realized that there were no photos of my finished Aidez cardigan yet. Time to remedy that!

pattern: Aidez, by Cirilia Rose

yarn: Cascade Eco +, summer sky heather (9452), 2.4 skeins

needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) bamboo circs

my ravelry project page

notes:
I love this cardigan! It's so cozy, and I like the open front and mix of different textures. When I linked to the pattern just now, I noticed that Berroco has drastically re-formatted it, probably for the better. It's one of those patterns where you need to take lots of notes/counts to keep up with the different cable patterns, etc. It might be frustrating for a new knitter.

After perusing hundreds of Aidezes on Ravelry, I decided to make larger sleeves. Tight sleeves seemed to be a common complaint, as well as having a hard time seaming the raglan sleeves into the body. I took careful notes so that the second sleeve turned out pretty much the same as the first, but I think knitting the sleeves for the next size up would have a similar result. Otherwise I pretty much just followed the pattern.

I'm happy with my yarn choice, though it is pilling a bit already. I can't imagine using a much bulkier yarn (like the Peruvia Quick that the pattern specifies) -- the cardigan wouldn't have enough drape for my taste. I had to use much smaller needles, too.

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Pop Spots was in time-out for a bit, but is now back in the rotation -- perfect for knitting on the back porch. 

One of my favorite treats these days is a homemade iced sweet matcha latte -- I use Rishi's Sweet Matcha powder, which is quite sweet and probably not for the matcha purist. It is, however, great for those of us who care to indulge in a Starbucks' green tea latte or frappucino once in a while.

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We said good-bye to my old Jeep last weekend (sniff, sniff). She served us well, and actually was still running great (not to mention looking pretty awesome inside and out for being a 1998), but it was time. I loved that thing, and it's awfully weird to go from a two-Jeep household to a zero-Jeep household in the brief span of four months. My "new" (i.e., gently used) Subaru Outback is nice enough, but just doesn't have the same rugged charm.

the calm after the storm

Some spring we're having here in Chicago. In the last three days we've seen torrential downpours, thunderstorms, flooding, hail, sleet, and a nice dusting of snow, not to mention a sinkhole that ate three cars. Our neighborhood was lucky enough to have dramatic street geysers, as sewer water surged upward in plumes from manhole covers. Of course, Mother Nature's wrath is nothing compared to the madness and tragedy in Boston this past week.

Today the sun is out, and there are a few signs of spring in the garden (thank goodness).

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My second Wandering the Moor shawl finally received a good blocking.

pattern: Wandering the Moor, by Celeste Glassel

yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, verdigris, 2.85 skeins

needles: Clover US 7 bamboo circs (4.5 mm)

size: large

notes:
The yarn is wonderful, and I love the pattern, but the combination of the two is not my favorite. The yarn has a dry hand, feels very natural, has a nice mixture of rustic and elegant, and the color is simply gorgeous. That said, it feels a little limp knit at this gauge. It may be better suited for sweaters. I also made the large size this time, which was a mistake. Wearing shawlettes as jaunty little scarves is right up my alley; large shawls are sort of lost on me in terms of my wardrobe, even though I love knitting them. So, overall a project that was fun to knit, but not great to wear.

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 I love this photo of Moxie. Doesn't she look feisty? Also, you can see my new antique trestle table in the background. It could use a good refinishing!

birthday, sheep, etc.

Busy, busy around here these days. I celebrated my birthday last week with a lovely afternoon tea with friends. I made Joy the Baker's simple vegan chocolate cake, which was delicious and very easy.

A knitting friend gave me these Lantern Moon sheep stitch markers for my birthday. Super cute!

My latest sheepie find? Cotton poplin PJ pants from Old Navy.

They come in a lovely bright spring green, too, though you may have to hunt them down in stores, since the supply online is woefully depleted (I blame/credit knitters).

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We've been on the road a lot lately -- Milwaukee for Easter and Minneapolis for my mom's birthday have meant plenty of knitting time (though no photography time), but otherwise it has been a whirlwind. I promise knitting photos soon. I just blocked a shawlette, a baby sweater needs some buttons, and I should really take photos of my two latest cardigans, which I've been wearing nonstop.

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We did see a great band at Space in Evanston last week! Hey Marseilles was back in town, and they put on a good show. Very different from last fall at Lincoln Hall, since they've put out a new album since then. Highly recommend! I think they'll be at Lollapalooza this summer.

pop!

I finally started Pop Spots! Holy smokes is this a fun-to-knit pattern. Seeing the blue spots emerge is pretty awesome. You're really only knitting with one color at a time -- you drop stitches and do some fancy maneuvering to turn contrast-color garter stripes into spots that truly do pop. There's a handy tutorial on the Loop website that clarifies how to make these cute little spots.

The only downside is that while I think of ochre and blue as Swedish colors, many other people think of them as University of Michigan colors. Sigh... perhaps not what a proud UW Badger should wear?

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pattern: puerperium cardigan, by Kelly Brooker

yarn: Hazel Knits DK Lively ~ laguna

needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm

size: newborn

my ravelry project page

notes:
Easy, free pattern! I love the construction. I might throw in a few decreases on the arms next time.

Not a huge fan of the yarn, as it has a very tight twist and isn’t terribly pleasant to knit. It does, however, have great sheen and beautiful colors, though, and it blocked quite nicely. The cardigan seems a little big for a newborn, but what do I know!

In my new quest to use more exciting buttons, I went with contrasting bright yellow ones this time. : )

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in the kitchen

Yeah, other people seem to be on the gluten-free bandwagon right now. We, however, are in the midst of carbohydrate fever!

homemade soft pretzels from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. I made these on a baking day with a friend. We ran out of honey, so substituted brown sugar (only 2 T., since we didn't want them too sweet). It worked perfectly and was lots of fun. Oh, one other modification! We did an egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 T. water, beaten) before sprinkling the pretzels with coarse sea salt. Paul picked up a variety of fancy mustards from Gene's Sausage Shop. Next time I'd make a double batch, since four of us managed to eat pretty much the whole batch.

no-knead bread baked in a Dutch oven. The recipe is awesome and so easy -- I made it a couple of times a few years ago, but the recipe had fallen off my radar somehow.

Oh the bitter winds are coming in

Oh the bitter winds are coming in

And I'm already missing the summer 

Stockholm's cold but I've been told

I was born to endure this kind of weather

A snowy day here in Chicago, and I'm listening to First Aid Kit's "Emmylou," whose lyrics seem awfully appropriate.

Have you heard this song yet? One of my favorites of 2012 -- a Swedish take on Americana, with lyrics like "I'll be your Emmylou and I'll be your June / If you'll be my Gram and my Johnny, too."

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Remember my grousing that the buttons for my Drops cardigan were taking their sweet time getting here? Yeah... I somehow failed to note that they were coming from Slovenia! Considering their origin, they made excellent time, and the Wooden Artist did a beautiful job. The set on the right is destined for this cardigan.

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I'm jonesing to make this adorable bobble sheep pillow from the Purl Bee! (P.S. free pattern here.) I just may have fallen down on my yarn diet and ordered the yarn kit. 

the usual -- cats + knitting

two cats, one heated cat bed in the study

an uneasy alliance

Never mind that there's another heated cat bed in the living room, plus a regular cat bed just a few feet away. Such funny little ladies.

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Remember how I ran out of yarn (one of my usual tricks) while working on Burnett? I actually found a smidge more yarn squirreled away in the storage ottoman by my knitting chair! Just enough to finish it up.

 

pattern: Burnett, by Amanda Keep

yarn: Knit Picks Bare Superwash Merino (worsted weight), 2 skeins

needles: Clover US 6 bamboo circs

size: 9 months

notes:
The directions get a bit confusing once you get to the left front neck, and the pattern requires careful reading. I moved the buttonholes closer to the edge, since I wanted to work a single crochet border around the whole shebang to make it look neater and more finished. I should have worked one more buttonhole at the top. Doh! Also, the sleeves are extremely long -- you are supposed to roll them up, but I think it's a little overboard.

I'm trying to make bolder button choices -- often I use very boring, neutral buttons, when a pop of color really would be a nice finishing touch. I'm so glad I found these cute red buttons -- 5/8” “Colors Favorite Findings” in color no. 2. Very affordable! $.99 for a pkg of 20 at JoAnn.