In which Gwen emerges back onto Blogger

Hello there, Interwebs. 

It's been far too long.  I've been busy with something adorable:

The lovely Miss H is nearly 6 months old now, and has plenty of woolens - made by yours truly, friends, and family.  Some made for me by my grandma 33ish years ago. 

It'd be great to give you the lowdown on each item I've made, but that would take so much time that I'm afraid I'd never get it all done.  So, instead, let's get up to date with a giant post!

Here's the Pine Forest Baby Blanket, in all its deep green glory:

Here's that adorable little pumpkin hat, for the adorable little pumpkin:

(That hat, by the way, still fits her gigantic noggin - though it's getting a little tight.)

Here's a Noro striped hat and Gift Wrap Baby Sweater (and a group picture of the pre-delivery knits):

There's a pair of Malabrigo socks that I made in about 2 days, and she had already outgrown them by the time I cast off - not sure where those pics are.

Here's a hat my Aunt Jane made from her ewe, Brunhilde - she sheared her, dyed the wool, spun the wool, and felted it. 

Also featured, is the Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan I made that "matches" my Goodale sweater (same yarn):

(Behind us on the chair is an afghan my co-worker made for us.)

Finally, here's a sweater my Grandma Darline made for me when I was a baby:

So, basically, this whole Mom thing is incredible, especially when you have a daughter as absolutely delightful as the Tiny Bear.

What's on the needles now?  Finally - a pair of Pomatomus socks!  Awesome pattern, awesome yarn (Noro, naturally).  They're knitting up surprisingly quickly.  Now that we're all caught up, maybe I'll be able to update more frequently.  It's good to be back, Interwebs!

Okay, okay. I've been working on something special.

I know it's been a while, but I have a good excuse.  I've been working on something special.  Here are two of my current works in progress:

That would be the Pine Forest Baby Blanket, and a 29 week old baby a-cookin'.  (And, of course, the ubiquitous Ravelry WIP maternity shirt.)  Tiny D is scheduled to arrive in early October.

Needless to say, this means that knitting for myself has been put on the side burner for now.  Because BABY KNITTING.  Baby knitting.  So cute all the time.  Also, one of my good friends is due in November, my sister-in-law is due in December, and a co-worker just had a baby this month.  So, baby knitting all the time! 

I had grand plans of knitting myself cardigans for this, but as we all know, my two sweaters are stalled and so is the shawlette I was working on for myself.  (Because baby knitting.  Also because it's freaking hot and I can't even think of sweaters at a time like this.)

Here's the first thing knit for Tiny D (whose sex remains a mystery until October):

It's a hat!  (clearly)  A tiny pumpkin hat!  (yes, I can see that)
Adapted from a couple of different pumpkin patterns.

The blanket is almost done and will get its own post because it's gorgeous.  But here's the yarn (Madeline Tosh Vintage) along with some Noro that will become a sweater.

Finally, here's a pair of adorable booties knit for the co-worker's new baby girl.  They claim to be a size 6 month, and clearly I have no idea what size baby feet are because they seem really huge. 

Pattern: Flower Stitch Booties from 60 Quick Baby Knits
Needles: Size 4/3.5mm
Yarn: Misc. Cascade 220
Ravelry Link

So, basically, expect lots more baby knitting to come.  :)

Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey...socks. And stuff.

I haven't blogged for a while because of reasons.  These reasons will be revealed in a later post. 

But for now, knee socks!  And tiny socks!  And a tiny hat!

These are things made with the Time Traveler sock yarn. 

Allow me to say how much I love the knee socks.  They are awesome.  I would, as I mentioned, figure out how to make the increases in the back look centered next time, since the way I did it this time is a bit off.  But, nevertheless, they are great.  And so is Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off.

Pattern: Knee Socks! by Diana Parrington
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, Time Traveler
Needles: US 1.5/ 2.5mm
Ravelry link

So, then there was leftover yarn, and there was a co-worker having a baby, and therefore there was soon a tiny time-traveler hat and pair of socks.  :)

Patterns: Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat, by Keri McKiernan and Newborn Sock Set by Shelley Mackie

What else am I up to?  Well, I inadvertently broke one of my interchangeable size 7 needles a few weeks ago, and had to wait for more to arrive, so I'm still working on 2 sweaters.  But it's getting warm out, so soon it will just be one sweater and one on hold.  And then there's the Hitchhiker shawl.  And the five million other projects in my head...

Works in Progress

Remember how I was knitting a sweater?  But then I got distracted?  Well, you see, knitting isn't always a linear progression - sometimes it's a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey...socks.  (Ha - you see what I did there?)

It's day 34 now, and I thought I was really rocking it and only had an inch to go before starting the ribbing when I tried them on and realized that, due to my shapely and seriously ripped calves (not that I'm tooting my own horn here, or anything), 13 inches of leg off my leg = 11 inches of leg on my leg.  So, looks like I have a little farther to go than anticipated.

Also, I recently decided to start another sweater (yes, even though the first isn't done yet).  It's coming along quite nicely despite the fact that the collar isn't as wide as it looks like it should be.  Maybe that comes with the blocking.  (The pattern is Bonaparte by fallmasche) 

Oh, yeah - Christmas!

Hey there, blog!  Long time no... blog.

Here's the promised Christmas update - I made my brother the very coziest sweater in the whole wide world.  I LOVE this pattern!  My favorite part is the super wide raglan increases for the sleeves.  As I mentioned before, though, apparently you're supposed to wash your gauge swatches... hmmm... so it grew like a monster.  Also, this holiday season was particularly hectic, so there are only candid shots of him wearing it.  But, here you go!

Pattern: Ranger, by Jared Flood
Yarn: random yarn from the G-ma stash, DK-ish weight
Needles:  US size 7 & 8
Ravelry link

 

The Husband, the Brother and me in our Christmas sweaters

 

Paul looking classy by the fireplace.

My BFF texted me pictures all year of various Muppet and sock-monkey themed hats.  My BFF and I are serious Muppet fans.  Like, seriously.  We make involuntary Muppet noises when discussing the Muppets.  (Don't get me started on the new movie - OH MY GOODNESS.  PERFECTION.)  She did a project on Jim Henson when she was in elementary school, and my brother and I starred in her video.  So, anyway... I decided she needed a Fozzie hat.  (Did I mention she also says "wokka wokka" in casual conversation?  Truth.) 

While  I was crocheting the details for this hat, I kept involuntarily giggling.  Seriously, you can ask my husband.  Especially when I got to the hat.  I amuse myself so much.

Pattern: improvised
Yarn: random from G-ma's stash
Hook: K?  I think? 
No Ravelry link yet... I should get on that.

Pictures!

 

 She's wearing an apron because of reasons.  (Those reasons being that I gave her an apron for Christmas.  It's not a repressed women thing; it's an apron with a BEER POCKET and ATTACHED BOTTLE OPENER thing. You can find them here.)

 This is her Foozie face (seriously, have you SEEN the Muppets yet?  Best movie of the year.)

And one final picture from right after I made it.  LOVE!

The magic of socks

Things that made me irrationally angry this evening:
1. The blatant disregard for organization of any kind at my local grocery store.  Seriously, the sodas are in THREE SEPARATE AISLES.
2. People who leave their grocery carts in parking spots, even when the cart return is 10 feet from the abandoned cart.
3.  That uber-annoying Nadia G lady on the Cooking Channel.

Thing that made it all better:
Sock knitting.

 

(That's Knit Picks Felici self-striping sock yarn in the colorway Time Traveler.  It's super soft.  And the stitch definition is incredible.  And that's a TARDIS project bag by Jessa Lu - find her on Etsy.  She hasn't yet figured out how to make the bag bigger on the inside, but it's darling nonetheless.)

A super-secret Christmas knitting (and crocheting) post will follow once the super secret crocheting is done.  I realize that Christmas was five days ago, but this project won't meet its recipient until New Year's Day. 

My existential crisis

The secret Christmas knitting is finished. 

See?  Many pieces of yarn from the bajillion ends I had to weave in.

Now, the problem is, the beast grew like a mo-fo when I blocked it.  Apparently you're supposed to wash your gauge swatch, too?  I digress.

I've been sitting here wondering if I should throw it in the dryer, for like, a minute. 

I've decided, finally, that that is far too risky, and I will just hope the recipient wants a big, cozy, sweater.  (He'd better.)