Sassy Does It

I’m glad Christmas is over, and I’m not sorry I said it.

I had a good Christmas, really, but I’m just so done with it this year.

One excellent byproduct of the holiday nuttiness, however, is a spanking new baby blanket.

Little K was born last week, so this hot potato is ready for assignment overseas.

Pattern: Curlicue

Yarn: Blue Sky Alapacas Dyed Cotton (organically grown) in colorway 617 (Lotus), four skeins (150 yds each)

Needle:  US 3 circulars, 29-inch

Finished dimensions:
28 inches wide, 35 inches long

Modifications: I added a three-stitch garter border to both ends of every row.  To my eye, this was needed to keep the symmetry of the scalloped borders as written.

Clarifications: If this one is in your queue, double-check on how to properly end the even-numbered rows here (the last repeat is finished off with a ssk WHICH REPLACES the final sk2p as written). If you’re clever enough to have worked this out on your own, I hope your prowess is contagious.

Ravelry links: my project, the designer’s pattern

Verdict: Happy.  Easy pattern that doesn’t look super-easy, and it flew on non-Turbo US 3s like you wouldn’t think it would do.  Honestly, I felt like I was knitting on much fatter needles, like 9s.

The finished size was just what I’d hoped it would be (always nice, especially when you go to the trouble of knitting a gauge swatch).

I’m happy with the drape as well - gentle yet consistent.

The fabric is very soft; warm and substantial-feeling while still having the lightness of cotton.  It’s the nice fat feeling of the Blue Sky Alpacas fiber that makes the magic happen.

The finished blanket blossomed nicely with a 20-minute Eucalan soak, and behaved well during the blocking that followed.

The only silly-Amy moment(s) came about in the dash to complete my final rows as my yarn was running out.

Seeing as it’s a baby blanket that lacks the requirement of an exact fit, I should have just stopped when I knew I wasn’t going to squeak out another 5 rows and quit the pattern a bit early to finish gracefully with the final 3 rows of garter stitch.

But I like to live dangerously.

And I figured that blocking would cure all evils if I happened to stretch the yarn (too) tightly to eke out the final rows for a photo finish at the end of my fourth and final skein.

I pulled *really* tightly and finished all rows of the final pattern repetition and the border with only a couple of inches to spare.

Woo-hoo!  I whipped out my Eucalan wash, soaked, patted, and blocked.

But.

There wasn’t enough ease left in the fabric at that far end of the blanket to be able to block any sense back into it:  the width pulled in on itself and started to suck the life out of the rest of the project.

I started having flashbacks to my first baby blanket, a.k.a. The Trapezoid.

No one was ever going to notice that the pattern ended a couple of rows early, not even me.  Duh.

So I blocked all but the crappy end and once the remainder of the blanket was off the board, I frogged back 5 rows and finished with the garter stitch border in a more civilized fashion.

That said, I left out the evidence of my pre-frogged tight end and saved up my photo shoot for the happier times.  Pictured above is the (still sloppy) unblocked but re-knit trouble area which I subsequently prettied up in a second round of targeted blocking.

Below are a few pics of my just-off-the-UPS-truck blocking tools in action.

The Fiber Fantasy blockers I described in my last post did not disappoint.

Along with the curly end of a flexible blocker from this set, the tip of one of the straight-edge blockers is pictured here, next to the happy yellow yardstick that comes with the package.

During the first go at blocking, I ran two super-longshanks rigid blockers down the straight sides and T-pinned them 28 inches apart to set an even width.

Then I threaded a flexible blocker down the not-too-tight shorter edge until I ran out of wire (accounting for the extra length consumed by the scalloped edges, this was about 3/4 of the way across).

I finished off weaving this edge with the second flexible blocker and then pinned down the curves to set the shape.  The second scalloped edge (too tightly knitted, wearing the dunce cap) had to wait until I fixed it before it could be similarly guided.

Here’s a close-up of a flexible blocker in action on the second end after the rip-out-and-redo (you can see that I only re-soaked the last few inches).

You weave the blockers through outermost stitch all along each edge, every half inch or so.

And then you hook yourself up with ship-shape corners by pinning squarely at the joining point.

After blocking, even the reverse of the fabric has a nice smooth look.

Beeteedubyuh, did ya notice my sexy new blocking board along the way here?

Ohhh, it’s delicious.  Boy, did I feel professional voodooing my work down into submission with those T-pins.

As you can see, she folds up real nice so that a gal like me can clean up after herself when the blocking’s done.  Or at least have the potential to…do that.

Some call it cluttered, I call it cozy: I’m currently happily surrounded by knitting items, both old and new, and I’m hunkering down to get some things done here.

In spite of my slight tendency toward bah-humbuginess this year, Santa was very kind.

It’s not about the gifts, I know, but my eyes did get all misty when I unwrapped a shiny new ball winder and a gorgeous swift to boot.  Eureka, my heavy hinting worked!

It’s all I really wanted, so I figured the hinting was justified.

If I don’t do it, birthdays get forgotten and it ends in tears.  It’d be easier if gifts weren’t even involved, you know?  But I digress.

I do like gifts.

Oh joy, I felt like a kid - as soon as it seemed socially acceptable to do so when everyone had finished opening gifts (I gave it about 30 seconds), I bee-lined for my knitting bag and whipped out an unballed hank of Mongolian Cashmere and got to work.  I just happened to have this on hand.  Just in case.

That swift spinning away with a steady whir and a gentle breeze was glorious.  After I got it going.

I wasn’t sure quite what to do since I hadn’t done it before, but I figured I’d better just stick the little end into the big end and go for it* (before Tommy came back and hit me over the head with a tack hammer).

I felt like Ralphie on Christmas morning with his new Red Ryder BB gun, with his dad standing over his shoulder asking him if he knows how to load it.  That kid had been dreaming about loading it for so long, he tuned out all extraneous noise, nodding and smiling (maybe drooling?) and just got down to the business of enjoying it.

And then he went outside and (almost) shot his eye out - but thank goodness I didn’t do that.

I did quickly get my fix, however, and then moved the new goodies to the corner (still where I could see them) while I watched Mamma Mia and squealed for nearly two hours like the girl I am.

Now on to the New Year.  I have absolutely no plans whatsoever to ring it in doing anything exciting, but that doesn’t mean that something couldn’t come up.

Right?

I could just knit it in while others are ringing it in.  That would do.  I’ve got a lot of projects coming down the pike (in theory), so that would suit me just fine.

Old. Boring. Lady.

Emphasis on the Lady, thank you very much.

Toodles, dears.  TTYL.

I passed by a concert venue in the city this weekend that was featuring a band called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head.

At first I thought it might just be the sign guy being funny, but the warm-up band listed was a normal-sounding name, and it seemed like a lot of trouble to put all those letters high up there on that marquee just for a laugh.

Well, color me pink  - there really is a band with this name (I checked on it later, in between Curlicue rows).  NPSH for short.  If I’m not mistaken, Nat had her head shaved for that V for Vendetta movie, so I’m guessing there may be a link there.  Ya think?

That movie looked scary to me, so I didn’t see it.  I’m a wuss.  I’ve learned not to pretend I can watch scary movies unscathed - doing so ends badly for everyone in the same house with me once the lights get turned out that night.

In less frightening news, I’ve whipped out my cashmere, and life is good.

Isn’t she lovely?

You’ll remember my recent ode to the Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere I bought from WEBS.  I unhanked my first skein and unwound it (by hand), then re-wound it (by hand) into a center pull ball - all 400 yards of it.  (Yes, I’ve been hinting pretty heavily to the fam that a ball winder and swift would make a grrrrrrreat gift at some point, sometime.  Any old time.)

It’s gorgeo.  Really, so soft and delicate.

A little too delicate, at first, for my unaccustomed-to-such-fineries man-hands.

I thought I was winding it loosely enough, but once the ball was completed, the first few yards I pulled back out were tougher than I expected.  After breaking the thin fiber a couple of times inadvertently (eeeek! eeeeeeek!), my fingers took the hint and handled it more gently.

Sheer Poncho
by Amy Arifin

Now the center pull is playing nice and I have a pleasing on-gauge swatch on which to base my work for the Sheer Poncho.  Remember this?  Yippee!  So happy to think I can cast this on any day.

The Jade Sapphire (2 ply) label provides guidance for a 6-8 stitches/inch gauge on US 1-3; the Sheer Poncho pattern calls for stitches that are “loose and open” with a 6 stitch/inch gauge.  The pattern as written by Amy Arifin (and featured in MagKnits, Warm 2004) features Jagger Spun Zephyr Lace Weight knit on US 5.

I was curious to see how the fabric of my cashmere pick would knit up on US 2, so I tried that first, just for kicks.  I came in at 8+ stitches/inch, and the stitch definition was nice and even; a smooth, solid look.  You can see this tighter gauge knit in the first four rows of my (small, lazy) swatch at the left.

However.  It’s a good thing that the stitches are meant to be more open for this garment, because I’d go buggy knitting on US 2s for the entire duration of something like this (all stockinette, all the time).

I finished my swatch with US 5, and the stitches are airy and sheer as prescribed.  Gauge is 6-7 stitches/inch:  close enough.

I’ll knit on the bigger side, and the fabric will be a bit stretchy - I think we’re going to be OK here.

As the WIP turns:  Boy, the Curlicue is flying along.  The tininess of the US 3s is a red herring when it comes to progress because the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton is such a nice full fiber that the fabric feels like it knits itself.

Done with my second of four skeins, so we’re now at 50% length - well over 16 inches.  (See my quarters next to the blanket?  You know, for reference?  Thought you’d like that.)

Amy = Happy.

Happy with knitting, happy with the state of things in the country at large.  All is well.  Hallelujah.

While I’m waiting on the edge of every seat I’m sitting in today to hear a-n-y breath of the first election results, I might as well confess a sin.

It wasn’t premeditated, I swear.

I was downtown Saturday night and while walking back to my car, I passed Walgreens.  The devil on my shoulder said, “Hey, you know, I betcha (*wink*) they’re selling half-off Halloween candy in there.”

Did I summon the angel supposedly keeping watch on the other shoulder?  The better angels of my nature, maybe?  My common sense?  No way, Jose.

I stepped inside, and with purpose.

I took my time perusing the wall of 50%-off candy, knowing out the gate that the Reese’s cups were coming home with me.  Bidie likes the Peanut M&Ms (I’ll have a wee lookie at those, too, if forced), so I added those to the pile in my arms - two bags’ worth, to “stock up”.   As if this is something we stock up on, like canned goods on sale. 

And oh, the candy corn - who can leave that out, right?  It’s tradition.

Needless to say, this candy then became my dinner.  Yeeeeaaaaah.

The next day I could almost see the empty calories dripping from my thighs.

I ate half of the candy corn bag that first night, and I’ve made pretty good progress on the second half since then.  What am I eating?  A delicious mix of wax and high fructose corn syrup combined with a melange of artificial flavors - awesome.

[scurries away to eat another handful of candy corn]

In other news, Curlicue is coming along.  Oh, girls, I’m so excited (girls = girls, boys, women, or men) because it’s looking and feeling so nice.  Still happy with my bright pink choice, and the Blue Sky Alpacas cotton is soft and dreamy to knit with.

Pattern is easy, although I did struggle for a little while because reading the pattern literally (usually a good place to start) led me astray.  There’s one bit I needed to figure out, and then everything was fine. 

All of the even rows, 2-12, have a variation of knits and yarn-overs that end the same way:

Written as…
Row 2:  k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p *   last repeat is finished off with a ssk.

Added clarification that saved me…
Row 2:  k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p *   last repeat is finished off with a ssk WHICH REPLACES the final sk2p.

Yeah, I spent a lot of minutes trying to find out how to unearth three more stitches to combine into one for the sk2p double decrease (the one that was supposed to precede the final ssk single decrease).  And even if I found those three stitches I’d end up with one stitch too many in the end.

After racking my brain and actually charting out the stitches in Excel [insert joke about math geek here], I realized that the last ssk doesn’t simply follow the last sk2p, but rather replaces it.

Got it now.

You’ll find the whole pattern as written by Skruddevutt here, but FYI if you want to make this blanket, keep the above clarification in mind.

The only other deviation from the pattern I’ve made is to add a 3-stitch garter border on each side along the length of the blanket because I think it ties together with the garter border as written for the top and bottom, plus I think it finishes it off nicely and thwarts any rogue attempts of stitches to curl under.

Oh, and I did down-size the needle size on this again before I cast on - I just didn’t feel it was tight enough gauge with the US 5, so now it’s at a US 3.  I know the stitches will blossom upon the first wash, but I just wanted a more substantial look, and thought I’d make any other adjustments to dimensions via blocking in the end.

As it stands, I’ve used 1 of my 4 skeins, so the finished length should pan out around 32 inches.  It’s 26 inches wide right now, just as planned (funny how gauge can be your friend in this way, huh?).

Now I’m cranking along on it and it’s fun and easy.  I worked on it during my plane ride to Kentucky yesterday and I was chirpy the whole time.  It’s a very lovable pattern.

What was that about Kentucky?  Yes, Kentucky.  I didn’t realize for a while that this work trip fell on Election Day, but yaaaaaiiiiis, it sure did.  So the election parties (or depression-filled gatherings) around here might be a little one-sided tonight - if there are any gatherings at all.  But, as Lish texted me today from Texas (that’s where her job planted her today), there’s no reason we can’t find a little place on our own later to raise a glass of bubbly from our position in the minority (as determined by our current surroundings).  Oh heavens, I’m so hoping there is something wonderful to celebrate!

We shall soon see.

FYI, just polished off that bag of candy corn.  I know I’m bad, but man, that’s some tasty fructose.

Yippity ding dong, my WEBS yarn arrived!

Isn’t it glorious?

Here, let me get you acquainted.

Jade Sapphire
Mongolian Cashmere
Colorway 50, Driftwood

On the left we have the amazing Mongolian Cashmere, made by Jade Sapphire, in colorway 50, Driftwood. 

Oh yes, we’re feeling very posh with this splurge for a friend’s b-day gift - it’s a big birthday, so she’s going to get 100% cashmere.  And at a 25% discount for me, thank you very much, Kathy and Co! 

The project of my desire, about which I will blog once I’ve cast on, is the Sheer Poncho. This is a design that I initially drooled over here after having found it on Ravelry here.

Cascade Fixation
Color 3919, Maroon

Next we move into the Cascade Fixation portion of my stash-building order.  There was a closeout on Maroon (color 3919) so I decided to dive in.  I’ve not knitted before with Fixation, but I hear it’s quite unique in its springiness.  I’d like to try some socks with it, so I ordered just a bit…OK, in a second color, too - Yankee Red (color 3628).  Yankers was not on sale - but what the hey - in for a penny, in for a pound.

Cascade Fixation
Color 3628, Yankee Red

The Yankee Red is a bit on the Fire Engine side for me, but I’m thinking it might be really nice for Maizy, who is a Fire Engine Red kind of girl.  The Maroon I really like, because I like…things that are maroon.

Maroon.  Marooooon.  Another word that gets funny if you say or spell it a lot.  Maroooooon. 

It’s been a long day.

On the right you’ll see the nice pile o’ yarn that will be known in the future as Little K’s baby blanket à la Curlicue.  The to-die-for Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton is organically grown and truly luscious, certainly in the vibrance of its color (617, Lotus) but also in the feels-like-your-fingers-are-sinking-into-it plushness.  It’s uber-fabulous, all of it.

I swatched a bit in preparation for Curlicue cast-on; not that a swatch is absolutely necessary for a baby blanket, but I’m a little picky about baby blanket dimensions (I like ‘em intentionally generously-sized and not accidentally teddy-bear sized).

Top third stitched with US 5,
Middle third with US 6,
Bottom third with US 7

The yarn label says US 7-9 will yield 4-5 stitches/inch.  I’m wanting to stitches a bit on the tighter side so that my lace pattern is sure to pop.  I started with a 7 and came in at about 4.5 st/in.  Decided to tighten it up and gave it a shot with a 6, then with a 5.  Although the tension looks more pleasing to my eye with the smaller needle, the fabric didn’t change much in actual gauge; it’s still in the 4.5-4.75 st/in range.

So, I’ll probably go with the US 5.  I’ll run a few inches of the pattern on my swatch and then stick a fork in that decision (I dilly-dally around a lot, don’t I?).

The design calls for a repeating 11+1 pattern, so rather than the 100 stitches called for, I’ll up it to 122 and yield a blanket right around 26-27 inches wide.  Then block it heavily if it’s not big enough in the end to feed my fatty blanket beast.

One more set of yarn introductions will round out my lot this time, all from Valley Yarns.  It’s the sock-weight Huntington, in three hues.  Red (4150), grey (0605), and chocolate (B118): these were the short-sock color possibilities suggested by Squeezer, if I were to knit, say, a gift or three for her. 

Valley Yarns Huntington
Color 4150, Red

I have to say I’m in love with this red.  Really in love with it.  I’d call it a deep red, but not an earthy one.  I’m no color expert, but to my eye it’s got less of the orangey undertone and more of the blue. 

Sidenote:  I probably wouldn’t have said anything about blue undertones if I hadn’t had accidentally and briefly met someone who apparently knows more about undertones that I do, which thereby empowered me with an “eye for color” I don’t really have.  Backstory:  I have an Ann Taylor sweater in this shade that has been a staple in my winter wardrobe for a couple of seasons, and once in an elevator in Boston a woman randomly complimented the color and said, “Oh, honey, the blue undertones in that red really suit your complexion.”  Which was a really nice thing to say.  And this shade of red reminds me of that sweater.

Anyloo-hoo - this is my last planned yarn purchase this year.  I’ve really gotta cool it until next year as I’ve got a nice stash to bust between here and there.

[sigh]

I guess I better get knitting so I don’t get distracted by another yarn sale.

She hasn’t made her entrance yet, but she’ll be here very soon.

Kymber is going to have a girl baby to go with her boy baby, Little J.  Well, he’s a toddler, now, really.  Little J is two years old already, how can that be?

Anyway, Little K (as I’ll call her for now) is due in mid-December, so I better get cracking on her Curlicue blanket.  Yes, in celebration of the giddy girliness of a girl baby, I’ve decided to go with a daintier spin, and I really liked the Curlicue Blanket as given the “yay” by Allison on my Blanket Vote post.

The pic of the Curlicue I’d posted at that time as my inspiration was crafted in real life by Stashquisition (here on Ravelry) in a lovely baby blue.  The blanket design was shared on Ravelry by Skruddevutt, who posted the pattern on her site so that people like me can access it…for free!  Thank you to Skruddevutt, who makes furniture by day and blogs in Swedish about this and more here.  The photos of her blanket in a lovely red hue are shown below.

No, I’m not fluent in Swedish, but my good friend Google translates into English for me and brings the words to life.  Isn’t it cool that a mouse click can do that?

As for yarn, I was inspired by SouleMama’s adoration for Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton as documented in her “blanket for baby” post a couple weeks ago. 

SouleMama is coolio, yo - Sissy B turned me on to her a few months back, and then made sure I didn’t miss this cuter-than-cute post on SouleMama’s blog, in which she presents the yarn of my current desire.  She also describes recently taking the Ravelry plunge, waxing sweet newbie wonder at the “vast expanse that is Ravelry” and expressing the initial trepidation all Ravelers have felt at first dipping the toe into the sheer abundance of it: ”so much goodness!”

I digress for a moment because I just read Amanda’s bio on her blog:  she’s from Portland, Maine (I think Sissy B told me this, but clearly it didn’t stick).  I was just there a few weeks ago.  Maybe I ran into SouleMama in a parking lot or something!  Hmmm.

But I’m not a weird stalker or anything; I just think it’s funny.  Funny ha-ha.  And funny strange.

Kinda like me.

Anyway.

One more thing and then I’ll continue about my yarn selection.

SouleMama, in her fabulousness, has a book out called The Creative Family.  You can tell by the Amazon ratings and reviews that it’s pretty darn cool. 

Sissy B had this book on her coffee table the last time I visited and I couldn’t stop raving about it.  It’s not just the craft ideas that make this book cool; really it’s the concept she’s getting across, as highlighted in the subtitle, “How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections.”

I mean, come on.  Too cute.  And I don’t even have any little ones. 

I do have a knitting obsession, though, and Amanda had me at hello with her comments in the introduction of her book.  She described a compulsion to knit that became rampant during her first pregnancy - and since then, she admitted, she has been known to knit at long stoplights.

I love it.

Right.  For my Curlicue, I’m going to go with bright pink (not neon, no thank you - but still bright).  Kymber is like a big sister - she’s a lot like me, which is a polite way of saying that she’s spicy, if you will - assertive and independent, with a penchant for überwoman exuberance (some people would call this being loud and opinionated, others - the cooler ones - would call it being hilarious and all-around awesome). 

Not that either of us are short on sugar in the sugar-and-spice equation; let’s just say we’re heavy on the spice.  Any girl of hers needs a shade of pink that can keep up with her.

So I can’t go with the undyed organic line that Blue Sky Alpacas carries, but I can go with the next-best alternative to au naturel, which is the 100% organically grown cotton that is dyed “in a fun array of colors.”  I’ll say.  Click on this link and check out the happy hues.

My shade is Lotus, number 617.  Haven’t ordered the yarn yet, but I’ve shopped.  I have a hard time committing sometimes, for no good reason - especially since I’ve already decided to buy the yarn. 

Blogging about this should help.  JUST BUY THE YARN, Amy. 

Yet, I do not, preferring instead to hem and haw, and tell you more about my shopping. 

It seems Fabulous Yarn may have the best deal once you figure in their discounts, but over at WEBS they have a whole lotta delicious sale yarns listed, of which they could throw in a few skeins while they’re packing up my Lotus. 

That’s the real reason I’m stalling on the purchase - because I want to be able to justify buying more than just the blanket yarn.  OK, I said it.  I’m not going to lie to you.

Time’s a-wastin’, though (*wink* doggone it, says Sarah Palin), so I better get movin’.