Co-worker Gifts

For thoroughness's sake, here are three more gifts that I knit for coworkers. First, a My So Called Scarf, started a looooong time ago, but too turquoise for me to have ever kept it, and thusly it became a gift knit. I enjoyed the pattern well enough, though I got right sick of it by the end. Also I think I did it wrong, twisting the knit stitches instead of knitting them regular. The yarn is from handpaintedyarn.com, knit on 4 mm needles.

  

Next, the super fastest knit, Fetching! So fast they were off the needles and given away before I could get a really decent picture of them. Knitted on 3.5 mm needles with ColourMart 100% extra fine merino 15/44 NM. I felt like these were a little short around the fingers, so I added 4 extra rows before bind off on the hand and also lengthened the thumb a bit. 

And, the funnest gift knit: a mini-Casino. Knitpicks Shadow knit on a 3 mm needle. Horribly photographed due to the northern latitude that I live in. Knitting this started out a little slow because you start at the long side, but it flies along as you get towards the pointy end. It took about 5 days. And the blocking... ah, the blocking. That's seriously fun. Except for when my cat slept on it, with the pins still in it. My really heavy cat who I couldn't manage to lift off of it without snagging it.  

But anyway, blocking is magic! 

Tilty, not Dusty

World, meet my Cropped Tilted Duster. Cropped Duster, say "hello, world".

I found out that I was pregnant last Spring and knew that I would want a better pregnancy-sweater solution than I had last time (which was a ridiculously oversized second-hand hoodie -- so big that I continued to wear it after the birth, zipped up around my daughter in the baby bjorn... until she was too big to be carried in the bjorn.) So, the month of May saw a bright hopeful beginning...

The back flew off the needles, no problem. Being a conscientious and busty knitter, I did a lot of gauge swatch calculations and ended up expanding the dimensions of the front a lot. I noticed that even on the less-endowed model, the line between the ribbing and the stockinette on the fronts was awkwardly high on her bust.

I finished the fronts and the arms lickety-split. I compared the back and fronts to a sweater that fit me at the time and there was a little discrepancy... and I realized that one becomes only bustier during pregnancy, and that I would have to rip-and-repeat the fronts in a more generous size. No problem. Until I ran out of yarn.

I could handle that, though. I had another cone of the exact same yarn (ColourMart 100% extra fine merino 15/44 NM) in black, so I finished the ribbing sections with some black trim. I think it looks nice, and even quite possibly intentional.

Finally, all done, seamed, everything. The moment of truth can be harsh. In October, at only 5 1/2 months pregnant, I'd already out-grown my pregnancy sweater.

I took a philosophical approach. It was a successful project (in all except it didn't fit me.) Maybe it would fit after the baby. Or I could gift it to a more slender pregnant friend.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I'd knit the damn thing, I was going to wear it! Last month (8 1/2 months pregnant) I squeezed it on. I had to shuffle the front around a bit and fasten it in an alternative manner, but I think it looked rather nice all in all.

And goddamn, I am so hugely pregnant. 

Gifts of Tangled Up Yarn

Here's a set of gift knits that went to a whole family. Done on time, mailed late... should have arrived by now! 

First: random cables! This one was really fun. I took a basic reversible cable pattern (Rav link), but at each row where there should have been a cable, I rolled a die. Evens, I cable, odds, I don't. Lots of fun to knit with a die. Kinda confuses bystanders! Yarn was Knitpicks Comfy, and boy was it ever comfy. Squishy, held cables nice. I knit one other project with this same yarn, and it held up well over time (no pilling, still soft).

Number two: a very pretty hat! Bloody Stupid Johnson outa Knitty. I used odds and ends of Noro Silk Garden. The cable motif was really neat, but it ended up really really wide. Initially the ribbing section seemed like it would fit a normal head, but after I knit the horizontal cable band onto it, it was really pulled wide. I ended up ripping out the bottom band of ribbing and reknit it with a lot less stitches (I think 30 less?), also eliminating the short row shaping there. But now it fits great. And I knit the crown to pattern specifications.

And lastly, a half-and-half gift ... fitted for the little one, designed to amuse the big one. Last year I knit a Jayne hat (another Rav link) for the Daddy of this family, this year a baby Jayne. Yarn was Per Tyving pt2, same as Daddy's but I think it was kinda itchy for a kid. We'll see how it goes over.

All in all, yay for gift knitting! One more gift-knit post to come...