afternoon tea

 

Mmm... French apple cake for tea today. I couldn't resist adding a dash of cardamom and a dash of nutmeg to the cinnamon-sugar topping when I was baking.

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Toggle buttons have been procured for my Shalder cardigan. The pickings were awfully slim at my fabric store, and shopping for buttons online is a soul-crushing endeavor. These are La Mode style no. 29442 (hook 608).

Here's a vague idea how they'll look sewn on:

My cardigans are almost always worn open, so the buttons probably won't see much actual use.

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My owl baby vest pattern is now available en español, by the way! Muchas gracias to Cecilia, aka wenlita, for the translation.

a spot of sunshine

Remember how I claimed I wouldn't start a new crochet project until AFTER the big brown (boring) border on the Noro giant granny square was done?  Yeah, right... I *know* there's one more skein of brown yarn hiding in my stash somewhere, but I haven't plucked up my courage to dig through and find it.

I couldn't resist any longer, plus a dear friend has a baby due to make his entry into this world quite soon. Enter the granny star afghan:

I'm mostly following this pattern (rav link), which is very cute and fun to make.  Be forewarned, though, that the pattern leaves out a crucial step. In order for the star shaping to work, you need to skip working a 2 DC "cluster" at the inner angles of the star.  I'm probably halfway done with this already -- it's going very quickly.

The yarn is Bernat Cottontots, an affordable 100% cotton yarn that comes in cheerful colors. I knit a baby blanket with this yarn years ago... it turned out beautifully, held up well, and received lots of love. The yarn is a little tough on the wrists to knit, but it's much easier to crochet.

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Sadly I haven't been knitting or crocheting nearly as much as I would like, as I've been swamped. Reading, cooking, and TV watching have also gone down the tubes, so pretty much any form of relaxing has been abandoned.

Somehow I did manage to squeeze in a baby sweater for (yet another) shower, though it took me over a month.

pattern: owlet, by Kate Davies

yarn: precious handspun yarn by Mia

needles: US 7 and 9

my Ravelry project page

notes:
What a great way to use Mia's beautiful handspun yarn! Truly a treat. Many thanks, Mia. :-)

I love the little owl cables, but I'm not a big fan of bottom-up sweaters. Attaching the sleeves was a pain, and I suspect that instructions for how to do the underarms are a bit wonky. You're supposed to leave the body's underarm stitches live to graft later, but there aren't any matching live stitches from the sleeves! I fiddled around a while until I just gave up, bound off the stitches, and seamed it up.

The short rows to raise the back of the neck don't look great when you do the owl yoke in a contrasting color, just fyi. They do the trick, but it looks a bit odd.

besotted...

Apparently I'm not the only one who looks back fondly on those 1980s John Hughes movies... Judging from your comments, Andrew McCarthy had quite the following. Pretty in Pink's one of my favorites, too, but I always wanted Andy to end up with Duckie.

Pretty in Pink + Xs and Os = besotted

Pattern: Besotted, by Adrian Bizilia
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Amoroso, 2 skeins
Needles: Clover US 8 bamboo straights

Well, if I can't get Paul into a sweater vest, I can at least finish up my second go at my owl vaby vest pattern. Just needs ribbed edging around the V-neck and arm holes.

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An amazing bounty arrived on my doorstep recently. The ever generous knitter, quilter, and photographer extraordinaire, Mia, sent me all this gorgeous yarn:
Holy cow, I was blown away. This is enough yarn for not just one, but two sweaters for me! The ruby red yarn is Kimmett Croft (mmm... angora/merino), and the lovely lavender on the right is Manos. This is one of the best gifts I've ever received. :-) I'm thinking about using the Manos for a Button Me Up raglan , and maybe an EZ percentage sweater with the luxurious Fairy Hare. Thanks again, Mia!

Speaking of how nice knitters are, Rachael over at Cattywampus gave me this blue ribbon:

Aw, thanks! I'm passing the blue ribbon along to some of my favorite blogs:
- Knit & Play with Fire
- Indigo Mouse
- The A.D.D. Knitter
- Cocoknits
- In Stitches
It's awfully difficult to pick just 4 -- so I picked 5! So many knit bloggers are just amazing.

more owl-y goodness

May I present Owl hat numero tres:

Pattern: Owl Hat, by Ruthie Nussbaum

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino, Charcoal, less than 1 ball
Needles: US 6 Clover bamboo circs

Another one for Paul, as his last one stretched out with wear. I reduced the number of stitches (88 total after the ribbing), used smaller needles, and moved the owl cable pattern closer to the ribbing. I'm not sick of the pattern yet!

Though I still have the sleeves left to knit on my February "me" sweater, I'm already swatching for my next sweater:
Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk for Ysolda's gorgeous Liesl (round neck, 3/4 sleeves).

A family friend recently gave me a treasure trove of silver and silverplate serving dishes. Gorgeous stuff, far too elegant for my current lifestyle, but I'm excited to display and use them sometime down the road. So I'm knitting her a hat and scarf set as a *very small* token of my appreciation. The hat is done (and I'll be sharing the pattern soon, so no pic yet), but the Lacy Waves scarf is a WIP.
EXCEPT... I somehow managed to lose the other knitting needle. How exactly does one lose a size 10.5 bamboo needle? Craziness. The scarf's not thrilling me anyway, so I may frog and pick something else that works on a different size of needle, as I'm too busy with school & work right now to make it to a yarn store (I'd rather spend that time knitting, enjoying a glass of wine with Paul, and snuggling with my sweet kitties).

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Listening :: The Replacements, Don't Tell a Soul (love that 1980s Minnesota rock scene)

Reading :: Elizabeth Jane Howard, The Light Years & Marking Time (vols . 1 & 2 of the Cazalet Chronicle)

Owl Baby Vest

Owls are all over the ancient Greek world. Not only do they symbolize wisdom, they also stand for the goddess Athena and the great city-state of Athens. Why not start a baby off on the path to wisdom and erudition right from the get-go?

Owl Baby Vest

ETA: now available as a Ravelry download in PDF format!

This is my first pattern to share. It's an easy pattern, knit in the round. I'm sure there are errors, evidence of my own lack of wisdom. Let me know if you have any troubles. I'll try to put the PDF up as a Ravelry download, too, but it may take a couple days.

Size: 9-12 months

Yarn: DK-weight superwash wool or wool-blend yarn, ~240 yards.

Suggested yarns: Rowan Wool Cotton, Zara, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, and RYC Cashcotton DK. Also a great way to highlight sport/DK-weight sock yarn, such as The Plucky Knitter’s Sport Superwash Merino or heavyweight Socks That Rock. I used Elann’s Peruvian Merino Luxury Superwash DK (not my favorite knitting experience). A solid or semisolid will show the cable-knit owls to their best advantage.

Needles: US 4 & 5 16” circular needles, US 4 dpns. I’m a loose knitter, so you may need to go up to US 5 & 6.

Gauge: 5 sts/inch in stockinette

Guide to Cables:

C4B: Sl 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k2, then k2 from cable needle.

C4F: Sl 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k2, then k2 from cable needle.

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Body

With size 4 circular needles, cast on 108 stitches. Place marker and join to knit in the round.

Work 5 rounds in 2 by 2 ribbing. (k2, p2)

Switch to size 5 circular needles. Round 1: kf&b, k53, kf&b, k to end. (110 sts total)

Work in stockinette until vest measures 4” from cast-on edge.

Work owl cable pattern:

The cable pattern is just on the front; the back is worked in stockinette.

Round 1: p2, (k8, p3) x 4, k8, p2, k to end

Round 2: repeat rnd 1

Round 3: p2, (C4B, C4F, p3) x 4, C4B, C4F, p2, k to end

Round 4-10: repeat rnd 1

Round 11: repeat rnd 3

Round 12: repeat rnd 1

Round 13: p2, (k1, p2, k2, p2, k1, p3) x 4, k1, p2, k2, p2, k1, p2, k to end

Round 14: repeat rnd 13

Round 15-16: repeat rnd 1

Round 17: repeat rnd 3

Round 18: repeat rnd 1

Work in stockinette until vest measures 6.5” from cast-on edge.

Divide for armholes:

Row 1: k until 5 sts before marker. BO (bind off) last 5 sts.

Row 2: BO first 4 sts. k 46, move these stitches to holder (for front), BO 10 stitches, k 45. These 45 stitches form the back.

Back

Work in stockinette.

Rows 1-3: Decrease 1 st. at each end of needle every row. (39 sts remain)

Continue in stockinette until vest measures 12” from cast-on edge, ending with a RS row. Place sts on holder or spare yarn. Cut yarn, leaving a long tail (for 3-needle bind-off shoulder join).

Left Front

Join yarn on right side of work. Working in stockinette, k 22; leave remaining sts on stitch holder or waste yarn. You may wish to substitute fancier (i.e., more invisible) decreases!

Row 1: p2tog, p to last 2 sts, p2tog

Row 2: k2tog, k to end

Row 3: p2tog, p to last 2 sts, p2tog

Row 4: k2tog, k to end

Row 5: p2tog, p to end

Row 6: k

Row 7-18: repeat rows 5 & 6 5 more times (6 repeats total)

Row 19: p2tog, p to end (8 sts remain)

Work even in stockinette until vest measures 12” ending with a RS row. Place sts on holder or waste yarn. Break yarn, leaving a 16” tail (for shoulder join).

Right Front

Join yarn on right side. BO 1st 2 sts, then k to end.

Row 1: p2tog, p to last 2 sts, p2tog

Row 2: k to last 2 sts, k2tog

Row 3: p2 tog, p to last 2 sts, p2tog

Row 4: k to last 2 sts, k2tog

Row 5: p to last 2 sts, p2tog

Row 6: k

Rows 7-18: repeat rows 5 & 6 5 more times (6 repeats total)

Row 19: p to last 2 sts, p2tog (8 sts remain)

Continue working as for left front.

Shoulder Join

With right sides facing together, using the long yarn tail, work a 3 needle bind-off at each shoulder (8 held sts from front + 8 sts from back).

Neck Edging

Using size 4 circ needles, pick up 3 sts for every 4 rows along the left front. Pick up 2 sts in the center, pick up 3 sts for every 4 rows along the right front. If necessary, fudge it to have a multiple of 4 sts. K 24 held back stitches. Join to knit in round.

Work 3 rounds in 2 x 2 ribbing. Bind off loosely in pattern.

Armhole Edging (x 2)

Using size 4 DPNs (or magic loop), join yarn at middle of bottom of underarm. Pick up 5 sts across bottom of underarm, then pick up approx. 3 sts for every 4 rows, then pick up last 5 sts across bottom of underarm. Make sure you have a multiple of 4 sts. Join to knit in round.

Knit 3 rows in 2 x 2 ribbing. Bind off loosely in pattern.

Finishing

Weave in ends. Wash with gentle, baby-friendly detergent. Lay flat on a towel to dry, gently reshaping to make the sides of the cable panel sit even with the rest of the vest (pinning if necessary).

Pattern & images © Jodi Haraldson, 2008.
Pattern for personal and charity use only.

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Apparently the Owl Baby Vest also makes an excellent cat sweater: Thanks, Luscious Luka, for knitting up such a cute vest and letting me share the photo!

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If you just like the owls but don't have any babies to knit for, check out some fabulous patterns that use variations of this traditional cable pattern:

- Owl Hat, by Ruthie Nussbaum
- Owl Knee Socks, by Megan Rogers (I'm dying to knit these!)
- Owl Dishcloth, by Janelle Schlossman