Exchequered

Pattern: Exchequered by Alice Bell
Made for: Caroline
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa 501

I started it in the fall and vowed to finish it as part of finish-or-frog. I did finish on February 1, as promised, but it has taken until now to set up a suitable photo shoot with my sister. I guess we’re both really busy.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I didn’t use the chart in the pattern because I didn’t feel like printing it, and I like that the two halves don’t match.

It ended up being about 6.5 feet long, long enough for her to wrap around her face as many times as she wants.

I think she likes it too!

Week 8 – Totem Pole

This week’s swatch is Totem Pole from the Second Treasury. I like this one. It’s written as a lace panel, but I like it as an all-over pattern too. I especially like the mixture of texture and yarn-overs. I think this might be especially nice for knee socks (but then they might look too much like the famous Monkey socks).

Fishy!

Pattern: Fish Hat (Dead or Alive?)
Yarn: Noro Kureyon #150, Cascade 220 in Navy for fins and lips (buttons for eyes)
For: Elizabeth

My best friend from college, Elizabeth, is already in posession of a squid hat made by another knitting friend of hers.  So when I saw the Fish Hat pattern I immediately thought of her and knew I just had to make her one.  (I went to visit her and present the hat this weekend, but sadly forgot my camera, which is why you see it modeled by little old me).

I haven’t seen any other fish hats in Noro Kureyon, which frankly shocks me, since I found the yarn to be so perfect for it.

When Elizabeth put the hat on, she remarked that the fins made it look like a Roman helmet. I didn’t really see it, but when I saw the (fairly ugly) photo below I thought it looked familiar.

You be the judge.

Week 7 – Parenthetical Rib

This week’s swatch is Parenthetical Rib from the Second Treasury.  Eh, I’m not a fan. It reminds me too much of a labrys or other double-bladed axe to be suitable for a knitting pattern. Then again, if you’re searching for an axe-like knitting pattern, I’ve found just the thing!

How to darn an elephant

You remember Elijah.

Eek, what’s that on his side?

A hole!

I noticed it when we were doing the photo shoot with Otto.  My mom and I were horrified, so I took him home for repairs.  I’m not sure what caused the hole (moths?) but it was about three stitches wide and five rows tall.  It look me a few weeks to work up the courage, but I finally fixed it.

First, I duplicate stitched over seven or so stitches two rows down from the hole and started working up, to shore up any areas that might have been weakened.   When I got to the hole, I left loops for the three missing stitches that I needed to recreate.

Then I tightened the stitches over a needle.

I continued duplicate stitching two or three stitches past the hole, then went up to the next row, making new loops in the stitches on the needle and then tightening those stitches on the needle. I went on like this until I had closed the gap, then grafted the loose stitches back into the body.

It left a bit of a scar, but I think it’s not too noticeable.

I’m so happy that Elijah survived the surgery!

Week 6 – Drop-stitch Honeycomb

This week’s swatch is Drop-stitch Honeycomb from the Second Treasury.

I like the right side fine, I guess. The wrong side is really cool though, so much so that I hesitate to call it the wrong side.

It has a really cool bumpy, quilted-looking texture. I think it would be really neat in a tailored jacket, or as a more subtle texture in a garment like Surface.

The pattern is easy to work, too. Five rows out of six are plain stockinette, and the texture is created by dropping stitches and picking up the threads every sixth row. The dropping maneuver is a little fiddly at first, but it’s fine once you get used to it.

January 2009 – In case you missed it

Is it just me, or has it been sort of quiet in knitblog land over the last few months? Maybe I just feel that way since so many of my favorites had babies or switched jobs and put down the needles. Rather than rehash the old “Ravelry killed the knitblog star” conversation I’ve decided to highlight some of my favorite posts from the month of January. Here they are, in no particular order:

Prettiest braids of roving

Prettiest shawl

Most thorough FO post

Best use of handspun

Cutest toy

Most inspiring home improvement post

Best pairing of socks and shoes

Snazziest hat and coat combo

What cool stuff did I miss?

Week 5 – Track of the Turtle

This week’s pattern for the Walker Treasury Project is Track of the Turtle.  Here is Version I

 
and here is Version II.

 

 The two versions are created in very similar ways, but Version I has “rest rows” in which you just purl back without any patterning, and Version II does not.  I feel like Version I is a well-used pattern, and that I’ve seen it all over the place, but I can’t think of any good examples at the moment.  Can you think of any?

The name didn’t make any sense to me until I saw this.   Now I get it.