FO: Baby Cabolero

Here it is, my unintentional stealth knit, the very cute-n-compact Baby Bolero from Leigh Radford's One Skein, knit with just under the advertised one skein of Blue Sky Alpaca's organic cotton in Sand. I love this yarn. It's so soft and so smooshy- perfect for baby goods. Which is why I return to this yarn choice again and again for baby gear. If only the good people at Blue Sky thought to somehow infuse this yarn with "baby smell" ahead of time, it would be perfect. He he. But, all in due time. The recipient of this sweater will be with is in just a couple months!

This little sweater is for my friend C's baby, who I cannot wait to meet. It is also named after C, in a play on words sort of way. I may make a little hat or a pair of mittens to go with it, I haven't quite decided yet. We'll see how the rest of my on-the-needles inventory gets worked on and worked though in the next couple of months. Is it really Fall already? Who can believe this? Here's a shot of the back of the sweater.

I enjoyed knitting this sweater quite a lot, even though (or because?) it went so fast I almost didn't have time to blink, and also because I thought about C and imagined what her first baby girl will be like as I knitted. She will be very cute and fashion savvy, no doubt, like her mommy. I only wish they still lived in L.A. and not the BK. But ah, that's what planes are for. :) Don't you just want to pet this?

Besides my little photo shoot, we had a pretty mellow weekend, for the first time in several weeks. We've been much more social in the last few weekends than we're used to, so I was glad to be home for a change. Besides lunch with a friend on Saturday, we stayed around the house, careful to not exert too much energy. I think even Dakota was relieved to be home this weekend.

PS: No sooner did I come across a couple of potentially scrumptious fig recipes, when I discovered (MUCH to my dismay) that the figs seems to have all but disappeared from my tree! Okay, there are a few that I might be able to save, but it's not lookin' good. Wouldn't you know it? Grr...

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

It has been busy trying to get ready for our vacation, but I think most preparations are finally done and we are ready to go. My weekend started Thursday night with a brief visit to the Knit Salon before joining my loopy girls at a local Italian restaurant. Since Nonnahs was in town, we also made it over to the Carlsbad outlets on Friday afternoon (on her way back to LA), in the hopes of finding some fall clothes. I got a good basic black dress (with the idea that it would be a great dress to wear my handknits on top of) as well as a new denim jacket (for $24, I have to add!!) and a pair of cordoroy pants. B and I then spent today running all over the place and tuning up our older, but bigger car we are taking on our trip.

I also had my second Deep V vest class this afternoon. We spent 4 hours and actually didn't knit a stitch. We did however spend the class time calculating gauge and making the not complicated, but confusing calculations to adjust for our differences in row and stitch gauge. The key changes being for most of us to account for a bigger row gauge. One of the goals of this class is not just to knit the vest, but to learn the skills to make personalized modifications and adjustments to make well fitting garments. After today's class, I think I am all ready to go.

I have also decided that of the two swatches, I'm happy with the initial color configuration (the red being the trim and main color).

One thing that was interesting, is that when I switched the yarn in my hands for the second swatch, it changes dramatically the way the colors lay together. I also seemed to have gotten worse with my fair isle in the second swatch. I just hope that it evens back out when I start on the vest itself. It should be easier since I can actually knit in the round on one set of circulars and not have to mess with 2 circulars or the magic loop. I've also resolved my issue with these colors seeming too "Christmas-y". Red and tans seem to be a pretty common color combination, especially for home decor, so I think it will be just fine and I am actually really looking forward to wearing it...in December when the class ends. Ugh!

Finally, tonight while taking a few loads down to the car, we saw the most spectacular fireworks show we've ever seen. We usually hear the fireworks at Qualcomm Stadium from our place, but rarely go watch them anymore. However, since our parking area over looks the stadium, we stopped and watched, especially since it had already been going on for so long. When it came time for the grande finale, of which there had already been several normal sized grande finales, there were so many fireworks, I started laughing and couldn't stop. It almost became ridiculous. Cool, but ridiculous. It turned out it was a show put on by one of our local radio stations in conjunction with an SDSU game.

Ok, I guess that's it for me for now and for the next week or so. We can't put off packing any longer. Hope you all have a great week!

It's Wednesday, it's random

I was seaming up a knit today, when I realized that it has come and nearly gone without being mentioned. I didn't mean for it to be a stealth knit, it just happened that way. It's a baby sweater. The wee thing- I started and before I knew it, I was done! I should have pictures of it in a couple of days. What an anti-climactic post, I know. I just had to post a quickie so I could share with you a cute and hilarious animated short I came across today via CRAFT Magazine. It's called The Last Knit*. See if you, too, can relate!

And now, since I hate to leave you with a photoless post, here is a shot of one of the peanuts, Ally, just for fun. I love that they're starting to smile and laugh :)

* Not to be confused with the movie The Last Kiss, which I want to see. And not just because Zach Braff is in it, either.

Could we BE any more loopy?

Yes. Why? Because this weekend I finally tried out the Magic Loop. Thanks to Knitzalot who showed me how, I am now loop, loop, looping my way through one of my secret knits.

This particular method had not really interested me all that much. I know people raved about it, but I figured, it's just another way to make circles. I was fine with dpns and I liked using 2 circulars. But, after seeing how it actually worked and realizing that it is essentially like using connected dpns, I wanted to give it a go. I think I am a convert. I can knit smoother joins than dpns, but its not as fiddly as 2 circulars.

I'm sure in reality I will end up using each method for different things, but I have a feeling the magic loop will quickly become the method I grab for first. In fact, I had ordered a couple extra longer cords from KnitPicks to go with my Options needles and I have been holding off starting my second Deep V swatch so that I can work it using the magic loop. But, if they don't show up in the mail tomorrow, I will have to move forward without it. After all, as B says, I am a Good Student, and I wouldn't want to come to class without all my homework done ;-)

I also wanted to share an updated picture of my current socks in progress. These have officially been dubbed my Happy Socks. I just can't get enough of them and when I tried the toe on for the first time today at lunch, I didn't want to take it off...

...even though it was just a toe. So far the fit is AMAZING and so cozy. I can't wait to get one done! I don't think there will be any problem turning these into Knee Highs (with a little elastic at the top to help keep them up).

Oh and thanks for the suggestions for fighting my motion sickness. I plan to give them a try, but with the magic loop, the knitting may be even easier than I thought! Now, if I could just trim the month's worth of knitting I have planned down to a realistic amount for a week, I will be good to go!

Head, shoulders, knees and toes.

The knitting conversation around A Little Loopy has held an odd preoccupation of late: Knee Highs. I'm not sure what it is about, but dang, we want some! There seems to be a plethora of Knee High (and these really should be a proper title, I think) knitting around the blog-o-sphere and any time a new picture is shown, we have a secret little meeting (Did you see? Oh my gosh, so cute! Have you decided what yours will be yet?). See there are so many options. And for a garment that will in all likelyhood never be seen by anyone, the choice of Knee Highs is a critical one.

I myself, have been intrigued by these socks. And I have to thank Cora The Enabler on this find - thank you, thank you, thank you!! Yes, I know they aren't Knee Highs, but why couldn't they be? I am mildly concerned that the Noro Silk Garden Lite may be a bit itchy, so I thought a trial pair of regular socks would be a good way to test it out. I fell in love with this pretty colorway (2014).

It has such a great combination of bright and mellow, light and dark. And includes everything from olive green to fuchsia. How cool is that? I also love the idea of working these as a toe up and sense I have never done a toe up sock before, I thought I would use that handy dandy new Knitty toe up formula.

So far, so good, I think. If all goes well with this pair, which I have a feeling will be a pretty quick pair (for me at least), I will make another pair a la Knee Highs. The only issue I am having is with the tight gauge. It really isn't all that bad (I'm using Addi 2s), but with my hands bothering me lately, I have to be sure not to work too long.

This week I also finally cast on for my Simple Knitted Bodice. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long haul, at least through the raglan increases. Man, there are already a ton of stitches on that thing and I am only on the second repeat!

I am hoping this will prove to be good car knitting (since I don't have to look at it all that much) for when we go on our road trip vacation in a week or so. Although, I do have to be carful with the plies of the yarn, so maybe one of my secret projects would be better...hmmm, I'm going to have to put some careful thought into that since I might as well be making some knitting progress while we drive all those miles. I just have to do it carefully since I am prone to motion sickness. I may be hoping for the impossible, but I have to try!

FO: Tiny Chicklets

They're done! My fantastically fun pair of socks, which shall hereforth be referred to as the Tiny Chicklets socks are now a bonafide FO! I've said it before, but it's worth repeating that I thoroughly enjoyed working on these socks. I bought two skeins of this amazingly colorful colorway of Koigu KPPPM (I'll have to check the ball band to find the exact colorway), without a pattern in mind. The yarn just called out to me, so I had to buy it. I knew I would find the perfect pattern for it later...and I did! Crusoe by Marilyn A. Roberts from the Spring '03 Knitty. These were sooo much fun to knit!

Before I started knitting, I looked online and found that other knitters had problems with the size of the socks (primarily with them ending up being too small), which is what I suspected might be the case when I read the pattern. I also talked with Julia, who shared her experience with these socks, which proved very helpful (as usual). From her, I learned the importance of making the exact right size, because the stranding pattern needs to be just so- not to tight, not too loose- just right. Given all this accumulated knowledge, I decided to make some adjustments. I casted on the number of stitches suggested for the large size (48 sts) - even though I have smaller feet and ankles. I also used needles that were a size larger than called for (US2 [the size I've used in the past for Koigu] instead of US1). I followed Julia's lead and also added extra heel rows to accommodate my arch. So glad I did. ETA: I forgot to mention that I also modified the top of the sock. Instead of the roll-down cuff in the pattern, I chose to do a simple 1x1 rib. Also, I knit these socks on two sets of DPNs, more or less at the same time, a method I will use in the future. Later, SSS!

If you're looking for a good time, I would recommend knitting these socks. In a mind-bogglingly nutty colorway of Koigu. It's the perfect pattern for this yummy yarn. I loved watching all (all) the beautiful colors emerge, stitch by stitch.

I'm really happy with the way these turned out. They fit perfectly. Snug, but not too tight...just right! Plus, they just make me smile. :)

* Does anyone besides Dis and I remember these little packets of colorful, mini-sized Chicklet gum?

The vest and the doggie

This weekend was another busy one and I think because I am pretty close to vacation time, it seemed super short. Saturday was marked with the Wiener Nationals and my first class to make Eunny's Deep V Argyle Vest. I was a bit nervous about the class and didn't feel as if I had properly prepared. I kept thinking that everyone else had been busy practicing their color work since our last class and I would end up being the only slacker. Fortunately, I think we were all in the same boat. But, I was also pleasantly surprised, fair isle came right back to me as it did to everyone else in the class, too. So I guess my "Knitting Knightmares" were unfounded after all.

Our instructor said that Eunny's steeking instructions in her pattern are the best he has ever seen. As if I should be surprised. Eunny is so amazing and I am really looking forward to her technical book. Anyway, here's a shot of my first swatch using Jo Sharp dk wool. We are actually making two swatches. One to measure gauge and one to practice our steeks later.

This one was made with the red as the main color and the tan as the contrast. We are going to reverse the colors for our second swatch so that we can see which way we like best. I am really in love with my red (Scarlet) but I am a bit worried that the tan I picked out (Linen) is knitting up more washed out that I envisioned. When I work with the yarn, the tan almost appears white to me and I really don't want to end up with something that looks like a Christmas vest. My goal was to create something that is classic looking and bold. I think the tan will be a nice contrast with the white shirt I am likely going to wear under the vest. I just hope that is what ends up happening. I think it will be really interesting to see if the tan ends up appearing a bit darker if it acts as the main color. I plan to post a photo of the two next to each other once I have it done.

As for the Wiener Nationals, we went mostly just to watch (it is really fun to see), since Jenny is still under the weather. She looks pretty happy in this picture, but she actually has developed a cold and a hot spot on one of her back legs. Ugh! She is such a sweet little girl, it just isn't right that she doesn't feel well. Her back is getting better every day, but she's just not 100% yet.

Any hoo, the Wiener races were fun as usual. There were approximately 250 dogs this year and it was the first year I've ever seen them actually disqualify dogs for "being deemed not to be a dachshund". Ha! We were also the only tools that showed up in matching "I heart my wiener" t-shirts. I'm not sure what we were thinking when we left the house that morning. We almost wore them into the restaurant to get breakfast, but the nice big reflective windows brought us to our senses before it was too late. It's one thing to wear matching wiener dog shirts around a bunch of other wiener dog people, it is quite another to be out in the real world walking around with no apparent excuse.

Knitterly Knightmares

A couple nights ago I found myself awake at 3:30am (this may or may not have originally been because of a little doggie coming off of her muscle relaxor fix). After taking the doggie out, I tried and failed miserably to get back to sleep. All that kept swimming through my head was knitting. Stress about the Deep V Argyle vest. Will I be able to knit with both hands? Will it fit? Will I be able to keep up in class?

But then there is the Simple Knitted Bodice KAL with the Sexy Knitters Club. I finally got a good gauge and fabric worked out, but what if it ends up too big anyway? And, oops, guess who forgot to write down the needle size of the last swatch? Because I didn't need to write it down, I knew I'd remember. Ha! (Oh and per Miss Stefanie, sub yarns should match the printed gauge in that pattern, because that gauge gives the actual finished sizes and not some derivative of before or after silk yarn growth.)

And Christmas! Sheesh! That is practically next week. I still have secret knits 1, 2 and 3! Of which they are all in some semblance of mid-production. And yet I am contemplating adding this new one? I know it's soft, pink and smooshy, but is there really time? Really?

Well, it just went around and around like that for nearly 2 hours. I almost got up, but knew that if I didn't get at least a little sleep, I would be completely useless at work the next day. I rarely have nights like this about anything. I usually sleep very well and often wish I could share at least a little bit of my ability to fall asleep in less than a minute with my insomniatic husband. But every so often my brain cranks on and won't shut off. It's usually about work, not fun stuff. So what does this mean to my knitting? Is it turning into something that is more than a fun hobby?

Regardless, these things will get done and the next project will come my way. Just like my N/N finally decided to come join us in the real world. Now although I finally know what N, my N/N turned out to be, my sister-in-law should really be the first person to share that information with the bloggosphere. So, until then, I will at least let you take a gander at the first little goody this perfect new member of our family has received from my needles.

It is the Debbie Bliss Shawl-Collared Jacket from Baby Knits for Beginners. I made it with slightly more than 3 hanks of Classic Elite Flash on size 8 needles and added on the Cutest Buttons in the World. I thought that it would be super cute to see a little one running around in a baby grandpa sweater. I knitted the pattern as written but did have to back-up sometimes and remind myself that it is written for beginners, so the pattern was literal. Once I took that as a given, piece of cake. And on a side note, this sweater is not greenish because I didn't know the sex of the baby, it is greenish because I liked this yarn. I have the pleasure of knitting for a mom who doesn't buy into the traditional gender specific characters pushed upon most children since before they are born. And because of this, knitting for this kid is going to be a lot of fun.

What's The Fig Deal?

B and I have a beautiful fig tree in our yard. When we moved into our little house, the tree was cut back and pretty barren. We weren't even sure it was a fig tree until the figs started to come in. The tree now boasts large branches full of big ol' leaves and loads of figs. I think it's so pretty.

I would love to make use of at least a small portion of the abundance of figs that are ripe (and are not being eaten by birds or perhaps other sinister creatures which shall not be named). Problem is, I'm not all that familiar with figs, overall. For instance, I did not know, until I browsed through the California Figs website, that "although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. The seeds are drupes, or the real fruit." Say what? Hey, I grew up in Hawaii- we don't really see much of those there. Avocado, papaya, guava, starfruit, mountain apple, lychee trees, yes - fig trees, not so much.

Fig Newtons, or more recently (and more yummy in my opinion) Fig Newmans are about the extent of my first hand fig appreciation. I have never cooked or baked with fresh figs. However, if it's not sweltering this weekend and I have time, I may experiment with a from-scratch version of this fig cookie classic. I am also open to recipe suggestions- if you know of a stellar fig-related recipe that I should try, let me know!

And is it just me, or does this close-up of a fig leaf vaguely remind anyone else of Carmelita:

Carmelita is coming along, BTW, slowly but surely. I'm so happy I decided to go back and re-knit. She continues to grow, and looks better than ever! I've also finished one Crusoe sock (yay!) and I hope to have its mate done in the next day or two, so I can snap some WIP pics over the weekend. I can't wait for you to see them!

Baseball + Friends + Knitting = Fun

Yesterday was a tag team of activities for me. I think I've mentioned it before, it seems like I usually don't have many "events" on the books from week to week, but when I do, they all seem to pile up on the same day. I left the house at 10:30 yesterday morning and didn't get home until 1:00am! This may explain why I slept all afternoon today and didn't even bother to shower until 4:00.

After a hair cut, I met several of the girls over at Rebecca's and we headed off on a San Diego LYS sale yarn crawl. Besides the Grove, the other two stores in Bonita and Pacific Beach, I had actually never been to before. They were always on my list of places to check out, but never actually made it to either before yesterday. I would say that we all picked up a couple gems, but no one broke the bank.

Then Knitzalot and I had a fun and adventurous trolly ride to the stadium where we met up with Cora for the Stitch 'n Pitch game at PetCo Park! I will admit, I am not a huge sports fan in general. I don't think there's anything wrong with them, it just doesn't interest me all that much. But, if you add knitting and Pyramid beer, and garlic fries...I'm there.

I've never been to the new stadium since it openned except for the lawn area after the Wiener Races a couple years ago, so this was a lot of fun for me. The view from the park is amazing. And I got several shots of the sky throughout the evening. (We've been having some great clouds in the last week or so.)

As part of the Stitch 'n Pitch event, we all got insulated lunch bags that contained 2 balls of novelty (of course) yarn and wood "scarf needles". Even B got his very own bag to take home for joining us :-) It was a lot of fun to see so many people in our section knitting. Mostly there were knitters, but there were a few crocheters and even a latch hooker!

I had a great time, made some good progress on one of my secret knits and we even won the game! (I swear I cheered in all the right places :-)

After the game, we headed over to a swanky restaurant and bar in the Gas Lamp. I had a Rasberry Champaign Mojito and their trio of Creme Brule - yummy! Oh and this is probably as good a time as any to share the insanity that was my food intake yesterday: a bagel, coffee, a brownie, iced coffee, a beer, garlic fries, a mojito, creme brule and a glass of wine. It is seriously amazing that I continued to function throughout the day, since I am someone who eats regular meals, all the time. Maybe it had something to do with the healthy combination of carbs, alcohol and caffeine. ;-)

Then it was another fun (and barf sawdust) filled trolly ride home...only to find out that the trolly didn't run all the way to the stop we needed to go to. We had a very "interesting" walk through a deserted, dark and spooky QUALCOMM parking lot. Fortunately, we were armed with some wicked wood knitting needles, so we were prepared to defend ourselves if necessary.

I had such a great time and definitely plan on attending next year. If you haven't already had one of these in your city, I hightly recommend going. But get your tickets as soon as you can. We literally got the last ones for our game!

Knitting through the A.M.

I started school a couple of weeks ago and wish I was still backpacking in Sequoia. I'm not a fan of store-bought trout, but the fresh trout was delicious!


Alas, my hours are restricted to hours of internet research and parsing caselaw. Oh, and the lack of sleep...although I had grand plans over the summer to knit for my four friends who are expecting babies over the next six months, I had only completed one Lilly's Hat using GGh Samoa. I stayed up until 3am this morning to complete a pair of Debbie Bliss baby sandals for a friend who is having her shower today (I used cheap, washable Red Heart TLC Baby yarn.) Booties shouldn't be taking this long, but some of her instructions were difficult to follow. The next time I knit these adorable sandals, they should take half the time!

My sister E drew this absolutely cute card for the baby shower. Girls - she will be drawing the next set of Dis-Nonnahs-Nasus drawings in the same style as the baby pictured here.