Grumperina goes to local yarn shops and Home Depot

January 15, 2012

And with the leftovers

I had a bit of yarn left over after knitting the Petite Facile Pullover, and with it I decided to knit a hat for Gregory. As we all know, handspun yarn + baby hat = WIN!

Up to now he's been wearing a number of handknit hats, including two I knit myself, and one Danielle knit for him. The Top Down Bonnet proved to be the most popular of the three, since the ties under the chin prevent the hat from slipping off. But it became woefully small about a month ago, neither covering his neck, nor his ears. So I decided to knit another!

Easier said than done. Somewhere between a yarn with a different gauge and slightly altering the shaping to make sure Gregory's neck and ears would be covered, I ended up with a sunhat-ish gnome/hobbit hat. Or something like that.

I ripped and reknit at least 4 times, and I'm generally pleased with the final result. The shaping is perfect for Gregory's head - the benefit of having the intended recipient on hand at all times - and the hat fits almost like a little helmet.

On the minus side, I think the hat could be just a tad shorter, but I didn't have it in me to rip and reknit yet another time. Motherhood: killing perfectionist tendencies, one knitter at a time.

January 08, 2012

Handspun sweater for a wee one

Pattern: Petite Facile Pullover by Meghan Jones from the Winter 2011 Interweave Knits. I knit the smallest size, 3 months, to fit a baby born this winter.

A few thoughts about this pattern:

Yarn: superwash merino 3-ply handspun from Pigeonroof Studios, squall colorway. This is my first time using a 3-ply handspun yarn, and it's very different than 2-ply. It's rounder and denser, and creates a fabric that's perfect for outerwear. One of the skeins I had was a bit unbalanced, so the front stockinette panel biases, but overall this was a lovely yarn with a beautiful denim look. The sweater used up about 220 yards, I'd say.

Needles, gauge, and finished dimensions: US 7 addi Turbo needles gave me a gauge of about 4.5 stitches and 7.5 rows per inch in stockinette. The sweater measures 18" around the torso, 10.5" from shoulder to hem, and 5.75" from armpit to cuff.

Ever since having a baby, I've become keenly aware that I roll up shirt and sweater sleeves 95% of the time. I now tend to knit sweater sleeves shorter than patterns specify. But I didn't change this pattern - 5.75" armpit to cuff for a 3-month size is pretty good! The standard is 6", and I've seen sleeves as long as 7" for this size!

Lastly, the finishing touch is a pretty shank button I picked up at Gather Here - love that shop!

My baby boy is 7 months old today, and he wishes all of you a wonderful week!

December 26, 2011

Two December projects

I cannot count the number of projects I started and abandoned over the past few months. Off the top of my head, there was a cabled baby sweater using Cascade 220 SW, a striped chevron baby blanket using Berroco Vintage Chunky, a pair of longies (footed pants), a striped baby sweater using fingering weight yarn (what was I thinking?), and probably a good number of other overly ambitious projects.

Only two projects have really stuck. Not surprisingly, they are the simplest, most transportable ones of the bunch.

Yet another one of my honeymoon blankets, using an eye-searing Katia Jamaica #4004. It's completely brainless and I absolutely love watching the colors transition. I am managing to knit a few rows between this and that, and am actually about halfway through!

This is the Petite Facile Pullover from the Winter 2011 Interweave Knits. I'm using some SW merino 3-ply handspun from Pigeonroof Studios. It's knitting up into a lovely denim-colored fabric. I think a bright, sunshine yellow button will finish it up perfectly. I started this project very recently, but I think I'll actually finish it (unlike baby sweaters which are cabled all over or call for fingering weight yarn, ahem).

For the Gregory fans in the crowd, here's my cutie wishing you Happy Holidays!