bestitched

winter white blanket

 

A warming gift for friends recently married. I had planned on a more complicated pattern, but then realizing I was going to be knitting this over our holiday travels, I opted for something simpler.

 
The blanket uses gull stitch pattern immortalized by Elizabeth Zimmerman. And since I've knit lots of little February Baby sweaters, I could knit this in my sleep. (Good thing, cause on the trip down to Philly after the blizzard, we were stuck in New Jersey for FIVE HOURS and I ended up knitting on this in the dark. NJ, please buy some snow plows).

Pattern: Pine Forest Baby Blanket (free on ravelry)

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Chunky in Ivory

Needle: US 11

Christmas washcloths

 Possibly the best stash buster project ever. Using remnants and partial skeins from leftover projects, I knit up some washcloths for holiday office gifts. 

 Wrapped up with a little soap and a tag, the result was a hit. 

Merry, merry to you and yours!

Two Knits in One Post

I blogged about Rhinebeck, but didn't blog about the skirt I knit for the big weekend. Here it is:

It's the running stitch skirt from the Fall 2010 Interweave. I used Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton (not crazy about that yarn) in chocolate with light blue and aqua for the stripes. I decided against the drawstring top and instead knit a facing into which I inserted 1" elastic.  I think an elastic waist makes for a much more wearable skirt than a drawstring. (And thus I rationalize my descent into wearing only elastic waist clothes as I age. And while I'm at it, you kids get off my lawn)  

The Ravelry details are here

And speaking of skirts, did you see this skirt from the latest Interweave preview? It has entered my queue along with this one from the latest knitty, and these two from Modern Top-Down Knitting. I may never knit another sweater.  

I also recently purchased a new mid-season coat. Since it has elbow length sleeves, I knit me some armwarmers.

The pattern is from the Purl Bee and I used Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk in Bowling Green. Good gravy, this yarn is so lovely! I used the hand painted version for a baby sweater with great results as well. Hmm, maybe I have enough of each left over for a budgie, especially since I just found out my niece is pregnant with her first. Which  makes me a great aunt.

Going to drink a cocktail now as I consider my future self sporting elastic waist skirts and being a great aunt.

 

 

Rhinebeck

Erin and I decided to tackle Rhinebeck this year with two little girls in tow. 

One of whom was mine. 

We had a fantastic time seeing friends. eating food, looking at animals (not something I choose to do but something the girl enjoyed) and checking out other people's handknits. I brought my camera both days but took only a few pictures. And my kid is in most of them.

So here's just a few

Look at all those lovely people! And I met so many more that I knew from online but had never met in person. And I missed out on taking their pictures.

I was a bit distracted.

(please, god, send me more sugar)

(for the love of god, why is this woman talking when there's a BOUNCY CASTLE?!!?)

(didn't she bribe me with the promise of baby goats? where are they? not in this  barn full of yarn I can tell you that much)

I did buy some vintage buttons but no yarn. I bought A LOT of food. 

The girls had a fantastic time together. Staying up late in a hotel room is heaven when you're 5. And yes, she did get to commune with the animals whilst I stood awkwardly nearby.

And she did eat her fair share of sugar and processed meat.

All in all, Rhinebeck success, happy memories and happy planning for next year.

chelsea skirt

chelsea skirt
Originally uploaded by bestitched

Another addition to the wardrobe. This pattern is from New England Knits. I'm really pleased with how this turned out and the light blue + plum combo make me pretty darn happy.

I had a few mods:

1. Instead of knitting with elastic thread for the waistband, I ended up making a knit casing and threading some 3/4” elastic through it.

2. The button band is non-functioning. I figured that would be a mistake for me. So, I knit the bands sewed them together and then sewed on the buttons.

Oh, and those antique Czech glass buttons are one of my treasures. I'll need to be a bit careful when washing and wearing the skirt, but those buttons are worth the extra effort.

Buncha Panties Blanket completed!

Finally done! My longest outstanding FO. I started this blanket three years ago thinking that I would make a king-size blanket (clearly I am drugs, that was NEVER going to happen). So when I found out that there was a baby out there in need of a blanket, I decided to make Buncha Panties a baby-sized blanket. 

 

I used a variety of different DK and light worsted weight yarns for the blanket, mostly Classic Elite Sundance, Classic Elite Classic Silk, and Tahki Cotton Classic. I knit nine 13" x 13" squares and put them together using using single crochet (so easy! so quick!). An attached i-cord for the edging and suddenly I was done with this blanket after three years.  

 
 

But see that bleeding? That's Classic Elite Sundance. Boo.

  

Oh, and the name "Buncha Panties"? Well, the name of the pattern is Mason-Dixon Knitting's Bunch Squares   and the colors of the blanket were inspired by Grumperina's Stripey Underpants Blanket. Buncha Squares + Underpants = Bunch Panties!

 

Knitting it Old School

Just over a year ago I finished designing a sweater for a book that Stitchy + Splityarn were putting together.

The book is here and it is amazing! Over forty -- that's right, over forty!! -- vintage-inspired patterns by some fantastic designers. It's such a timely and thoughtful contribution to the knitting world. The writing is clever and the patterns are out of this world. 

Including my pattern: Ahoy, Sailor!  (ravelry link)

    

 
Knit in Rowan Cotton Glace, the sweater features striping inside the hems and figure-flattering shaping.

Now, go to your local bookstore or Amazon and get your stylish self a copy of this fantastic book!

It's been a busy summer

We've been traveling a bit this summer. To Philly and Michigan to see family and we're recently back from Honduras. 

We were there for a week visiting Copan and my boss' archaeological excavations. Lily got to dig at the site.

  and catch tiny frogs

  and ride around town without a seat belt, often in the back of a pickup or in a tiny mototaxi

 and just to enjoy a beautiful place with wonderful friends

 
I brought two projects for vacation knitting. Following the lead of Grumperina, I started a mitered baby blanket using  Schachenmayr Crazy Cotton Yarn (discontinued of course, which pisses me off). Good mindless knitting for the plane rides and the bumpy 3-1/2 hour ride to Copan Ruinas. 

And the beginnings of a granny square skirt, which Ms. Bag+Trash is helping make a reality.  

I had some beautiful Araucania Lonco in a beautiful chocolate brown in the stash. It said granny square skirt to me (although everything in the stash says skirt to me right now). I tweeted that I wanted to make an epic granny square skirt and Maryse immediately tweeted back that she had an idea of how to construct it.  So with her guidance and design skills, I went to Honduras armed with a 2.25 mm crochet hook and some yarn and came back with some 4" granny squares.

 

So, not quite enough for a skirt yet, but stayed tuned!

summer of skirts, chapter 2

The second skirt is done. This was a super quick knit on US8 using Euroflax Linen Worsted (sadly discontinued).

The pattern is Kat Coyle's eyelet skirt from Knitty. But with decidedly fewer eyelets. I was too impatient to knit more and wanted a simpler style.

I knit the skirt in the round and went with an elastic waist rather than drawstring.

Another skirt is already on the needles and I have plans for some sewn skirts as well. All hail the summer of skirts and let's show some leg!

 

the summer of skirts begins

I've been thinking and thinking about how I look in handknit sweaters. Truthfully, I look okay. But I really look better in skirts. A lot better. With my top heavy frame, I don't need more bulk above my waist. Instead I need some interest on the bottom to balance what's happening up top (And for those of you interested in reading more about how to knit objects to flatter your frame, go read Amy's Fit to Flatter series).

So this is the summer of skirts. First up, a yellow skirt (an ode to Frida Kahlo) to wear with red.

Pattern: Drops Design 118-14 skirt with lace pattern in ”Muskat” (free pattern)

Yarn: Marisol T'ika in yellow

Ravelry details here

Next up is another linen skirt.