Hilary See, Hilary Do

or ... just trying to keep up with Kathy! I swear, someone at the Knitter's Guild recommended Monkey Socks to me before I knew everyone else in the World on the Web was making them. Not that it matters, there is not a lot of crossover between my Real Life friends and acquaintances and the knitting blog world.

It's my first picot edge, and I'm suitably charmed by it. It doesn't seem very stretchy though ... is it going to stay up on my leg? I did the whole edge on 1s and was planning on going back up to 2s for the rest of the sock, but I stayed on 1s and now I'm not sure about that. It is very dense, and I don't think I love that. (The pattern is written for 2s, and I knit tightly anyway.)

So I think I'll start the second sock and do it on 2s for comparison (instead of ripping it out and then wondering if I liked it the first way better, which is what I was about to do.) What's a project without a little angst and indecision?

These are my car knitting for the trip to Michigan. We leave Friday, so I won't be posting for a while.

Happy Fourth to those celebrating!

Well ...

the stripey sweater is done. I was obsessed with finishing it, but couldn't bear to post pictures of it, which is why I haven't posted for so long. Plus I think there was a week or so where I didn't knit anything. *shock*

I still think this sweater is not the most attractive thing I've ever made. And I am bummed (this is like that "the food was terrible and the portions were too small" joke) that I didn't make it bigger. It is actually a little longer than it looks in this picture – I think it will fit through this school year, but not much longer than that. Which would be just one of those things, except that a) I didn't measure him and b) I deliberately made the body and arms shorter because the last Rowan pattern I made him was way too long! Stupid.

I learned a number of things from this project, including:

1. Teeny tiny little Debbie Bliss skeins leave you with many, many, MANY ends to weave in.

2. "Designing" on the fly is harder than it looks, and may not turn out as expected. Designing the sleeves separately from the body is not a good idea, especially with a raglan pattern.

3. I should not pick projects based solely on finding yarn on sale for a good price.

And many other things, I'm sure. The collar is not at all how I planned it to look, but I think it's kind of cute anyway ... and it just fits over his head. (Note for future projects: adding lining to collar makes it even less stretchy.)

Pattern: More or less loosely based on "Will" from Rowan Junior. (Modifications: added stripes, didn't make zipper, changed collar opening, made ribbing on collar shorter. The picture of just the collar is actually the closest of what this sweater was SUPPOSED to look like. But I didn't have enough yarn to make it solid.)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton. (Which I loved! but not the teeny tiny skeins.)

I'm just so glad it's done. On to fun, fulfilling projects!

In other creative efforts today, I helped with the "Swimming Pool Cake" for Auden's 5th birthday party at the Y today. (Pool party ... there's a theme here. Also Hello Kitty.) I made the little people and some of the other little stuff, like the beach towel and flip-flops, which you can't really see in this picture. Will made the cake, which was delicious (of course) and turned it into a pool. The party was a success, I think, and even though the Y was doing all the work, we're wiped out.

The Sort-of-Ugly Sweater

My husband says I shouldn't call it that, even in private, or it will rub off on my son, who so far says he likes it. Loves it, in fact. Even loves the colors, he says. (Have I mentioned he's colorblind?) I am not sure about the apricot stripes. Or about the stripe pattern, which I am making up as I go along. Not sure about any of it, really.

I got the yarn (Debbie Bliss wool/cotton - very nice!) on super-duper sale with the intention of making a different, all brown sweater with a little orange peeking out from inside the collar. But then time went by and my son got bigger, and I wasn't sure I had enough brown. Enter stripes! I think at first I was just going to do one stripe ... I'm not sure how or why it morphed into what you see. Perhaps I've blocked it out. Also, I decided I couldn't bear to knit it in pieces, so I am doing it in the round, and I think I am NOT doing the collar from the pattern (there is a zipper, and I fear zippers), which pretty much means I am completely winging it at this point. We'll see!

To your right is the yarn I won (bought) at the Knitter's Guild annual auction Monday night. Three skeins of Blue Sky Organic Cotton in a naturally grown Sage color. So soft! The plan is to knit something for Eli's cello teacher's impending baby. Now I just need to figure out what.

And, most importantly, I need to figure out my knitting for my SOLO plane trip to California on Saturday. Just under three days visiting my parents. I may be more excited about being alone on the plane than anything else. Don't want to waste it!

Oh, and Kathy says it's my 1-year Blogiversary. I'm too lazy to check, but I think she's always right. Cake for everyone!