Archive for the 'Patterns' Category
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maternity clothes
Sunday, July 29th, 2007
I’ve been looking around at maternity clothes, and I have to say…I’m having a hard time finding anything. Jeans or otherwise.
The problems are:
1) The butt of maternity jeans is really distressing. The pockets are way too small, or they somehow really have a funny cut that flattens and enlarges.
2) They’re all to short.
3) The washes are ridiculous or they’re bedazzled.
I finally found a couple of pairs at Ross for like $15, they fit passably well, they’re long enough, they’re straight leg…but they washes are hideous. SO one task for tonight is to dye them indigo. (WML)
I started working on a maternity jacket/sweater. It’s going to be something I can wear now, and that will grow with my belly so that I can wear it later, too.
Posted in yarn reviews, just chit chat, Patterns | 23 Comments »
Karida’s Saartje’s Booties!!
Saturday, July 28th, 2007
Aaw!! Look what Karida sent me!! I’ve got the Saatrje’s booties pattern downloaded onto my computer, but haven’t made them yet…and LOOK! She read my mind and made them FOR me!!
These are soooOOooo sweet!!
OK, I almost hit “publish” without really writing much or giving any updates…
SO. Here’s what’s new. I found out on Friday that I’ll be teaching an intro astronomy class this fall. I’m reading the textbook, planning lectures and reading labs. That’s going to be really fun, I think. I’ve never had an astronomy class with a lab before. Lots of chances to demonstrate principles with real life situations. I love labs.
The next big thing is that the final final FINAL deadline for my next knitting book is October 1. (That’s also my mom’s birthday, coincidentally.)
SO…while everything is going super-smooth so far, and I’m getting my steam back after the first trimester, I’m still feeling that little twinge of recognition that I *might* have a busy next couple of months.
I’m finally starting to look pregnant and not just chunky-in-the-exact-front-of-my-belly. SO…maybe I’ll post a belly photo one of these days. I just want it to be more obvious that it’s a baby. Even though I’m still not *quite* sure I look pregnant, it’s been so hot here I’ve been wearing men’s A-shirts as shirts(those ribbed undershirts) all the time. I’ve found myself sort of making a point to hold my belly and pat it in public, so people will think, “oh, it’s a baby.” and not, “She should NOT be wearing that!” I pat it pretty much all the time any way. (So excited!)
We’ve started having rainy season, so it cools down at night and we get really nice thunder and lightning storms. But it leaves the daytime really humid. You’d think I’d be used to it coming from Iowa, but no. I’m declimatized toward humidity. AND…we have a swamp cooler so to use it is to ADD humidity. So. We bought blackout curtains and installed those in all the windows and sliding doors on the NorthEast side of the house. It seems to be helping.
….And, now that I’m talking about curtains, I think that’s all the news worth reporting!
OH! here are a bunch more Saartje’s Booties photos.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 5 Comments »
Baby Bog: Finished!!
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
I think it turned out pretty well. The yarns certainly look GREAT! I really love that the visual interest is totally amped by the combination of garter stitch and verigated handspun.
People are going to want to eat our kid for breakfast when (s)he’s in this sweater!
STATS:
Pattern: Bog Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Around.
Size: 24″ chest
Yarn: Spincycle Yarns handspun 100% merino in [MC] Booya Kasha [CC] Lummi Island Sunset
Needle: US7(4.5mm)
Mods: shortened the body, added the optional shoulder shaping, only did the applied i-cord along the fronts.
Things I’d do differently: hold the RS together when kitchnering up the pieces…holding WS together created a knit row where I’d have preferred a purl row. remember to incorporate buttonholes into the applied i-cord.
Posted in Patterns, baby | 9 Comments »
Baby Bog Jacket
Monday, July 16th, 2007
OK, so. This Elizabeth Zimmermann kick is all-consuming once you start. (friendly warning.)
This baby knitting is perfect for trying out EZ’s addictive shaping/construction techniques *and* satisfying the BABY-BABY-BABY *and* the “I just have to try this handspun merino right NOW” parts of my brain, all at the same time on itty bitty projects that don’t take up any time.
OK, so this is the start of my baby’s Bog Jacket by EZ, from Knitting Around. I didn’t follow the “Baby Bog” directions at all. Instead, I used the directions for the Adult Bog and sized them for a baby. SO…I don’t have the puffy, diaper-accommodating backside or the fancy “just for baby” sleeve shaping. I still think it’ll work, though. I just took EZ’s advice and started with my desired chest measurement (24″) and used that as my [X]. The rest is done in percents.
Even though this pattern is much more straightforward than the Baby Surprise…I still found myself wondering, “What part is THIS?” (baby brain) as I was knitting it. By the time I got to the shoulder shaping, though, I had it figured out.
We went to see a film on Sunday at the Fountain Theater in Mesilla, and on the way we stopped at The Bean. The Bean is a coffee house that has great atmosphere, great coffee, and pretty good food. I really like the colors of the walls and furniture. We were shooting on “manual” with some settings that I had put in for some other lighting conditions…so the photos look pretty Technicolor. Cool though, I think. I like the graininess. I made a Flickr set of all of them. The colors are so neat.
The film we saw was about Mexican women who come to the border towns (like Tijuana and Juarez) to work in the factories. Most of them have terrible conditions and become really ill from the chemicals they have to work with and the conditions in which they live. SO…this film followed a few of these women who have become educators within their factories.
They tell the employees about their rights and empower them to speak out against this treatment. It was really moving. Two of the film-makers and two of the workers were there to speak and answer questions afterward. It was a good reminder to buy Fair Trade when possible, and to minimize our environmental impact. Here’s an article about two of the women in the film.
**One of the comments yesterday was about the third printing of the book. We got all the errata (available in the upper left corner of this page, both as html and as a downloadable pdf file) for the book together and handed in at the end of March…but were too late for them to go into the second printing.
So the errata will be incorporated into the THIRD printing. It’ll go into press once it looks like the second printing will sell out. I don’t even know if the second printing WILL sell out. It’s be GREAT if I knew for sure. But, in reality, there are just too many factors governing that for me to hazard a guess.
If you have questions or comments regarding the book, and want the real official answers, F&W has a “contact us” page here. I don’t really know much about the book business, so anything relating to when, where, why, how things are printed should be addressed to the big wigs. I’ll put their contact info in the sidebar, so that if anything comes up later, you can find it.**
Posted in Book Talk, Patterns, baby | 4 Comments »
paypal, payloadz, gimme a break!
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
One day when I’m not working full time, I’ll get a real shopping cart. In the mean time, I’m using Paypal in conjunction with Payloadz. Between the two of them, they’ve managed to lose a couple of orders in the past couple of months.
If you’ve ordered a pattern and it doesn’t come right away, please email me, using the email address given to you in the Paypal receipt.
We can figure this out without involving the Paypal Police!
Posted in Backend, Patterns | 1 Comment »
Mercury’s on the move!
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
I feel like today is a lucky day, and like this will be a good week. Mercury came out of retrograde yesterday, so my (or ‘our’, judging by some of the comments and other blog posts I’ve been reading) communication woes and blockages of the mind should be over for a while.
I *do* feel unstuck. I only threw up once today, and not at all yesterday, so that tells me I *might* be at the end of Morning Sickness. Friday was the last day of the first trimester! We made it!!
Physical therapy also went well today. We’re moving past ‘adjusting’ into actually exercising and working on strength.
I made it to Post Office today, after several days of just not being up to it. Did you know that people can mail chickens? About 1/2 the times I go, there’s a rooster in the back, telling everyone, “Time to get up!” or “Let me out!!”
I finished up my baby surprise jacket. I never was able to find the label from that yarn, but believe me it’s just as well. I think it’s a little rough for baby garments, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s pretty on camera, though! Mom and I made some buttons last week, so I’ll take pics again when all the ends are woven in and the buttons are on.
The jacket was knit on 8s, so it’s a little big…maybe for an 18-24 month old. That’s ok, though.
**ETA: chest measured 24″ when I knit the BSJ on US 8s**
I wonder how much time I’ll have to knit for Hugo once he actually gets here?
I visualize myself having a happy, peaceful baby who loves to sit quietly. (insert big laugh) I picture myself just strapping him on in one of those sling things and going about my days knitting and writing and everything like normal. (Another laugh goes in here.)
The Spincycle yarn that I ordered arrived over the weekend, so I can make another sweater that will actually be soft and nice. (That’s a sexy sandwich of Booya Kasha and Lummi Island Sunset.) This yarn is so beautiful. I love the colors. It reminds me of saffron. Very India. SO. Do I do another BSJ? Do I do this other E.Z. sweater? (Brooklyn Tweed always makes me say, OK, I have GOT to make that.) Do I make one up? I’m feeling lazy, so I’ll probably wing it rather than try to follow a pattern.
Posted in yarn reviews, Patterns, baby | 12 Comments »
Baby Surprise Day 1
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Here’s my progress day 1. This is completely obsessive, “must finish one stage before I stop” -style knitting.
This photo really represents what the inside of my brain looks like right now, too. We’re working on a paper for publication, so I’m frantically getting the figures together and putting the finishing touches on the data reduction. It’s a project that I’ve been invested in since grad school…so getting it finished up is a great feeling.
And THAT side of my brain is struggling with the other side that has BABY running through every fiber. If I can get my head into the project, I can really immerse myself in it and make great progress. If, however, I have to get up and be sick every 45 minutes…it’s just BABY BABY BABY in there.
Here’s a closeup, including the gorgeous markers that Lindsay made for me. She’s such a great person, and a friend I met on LJ, who *happens* to be from B-more, but I didn’t meet her when I lived there. She even works at my alma mater!!
Here we are at TNNA…that’s my booth in the background with the hot pink tulle and black star lamps.
PS: Knit your own iPhone! (link courtesy the amazing Xtina)
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 2 Comments »
Baby Surprise Jacket
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
Since I’m so obsessed with this pattern, I can’t wait until my Spincyle yarn arrives. I’ll make another one when it does…but for now I found something I can cast on with right away.
It’s some as yet unidentified (I need to look back though my notebook to find the label) handspun in very New Mexico colors: pink, tangerine, purple, and light turquoise blue. I bought it last summer in Minneapolis, washed it because it was too ‘raw’ for me, and accidentally felted it. So now I’m untangling it and un-dredding it. It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was, but it IS pretty matted in places.
I have all the hanks wound into balls and am ready to cast on.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 3 Comments »
Heartbeat followup post / handspun shout out
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
(See end for explanation as to why this photo goes with this post!)
That’s “Booya Kasha” from Spincycle!
SO. Along with hearing the baby’s heartbeat came the news that I am considered ‘elderly’ to be having a baby. The midwife told me that she herself was elderly, and it was fine. And my nurse practitioner was 36 when she had her baby. I knew going into this that we’d be considered somewhat ‘high risk’ because of my age…but it’s hard to hear anyway. And really, really strange…because I don’t feel like an elderly 35-er.
I like this Dr. Sears book
Before the next appointment (July 30) we need to have decided which if any tests we want to go through. We need to do some more research before we decide anything. I came home with a handful of pamphlets on all of the various things.
It’s this kind of thing that makes it hard to concentrate for the rest of the day after these appointments. My brain just starts working overtime and I have this inconsolable need to figure it all out NOW. And because that’s just impossible, I then wander on to the “what should I make for the baby next?” question.
After seeing a few Baby Surprise Jackets (1, 2, 3, 4) , I’m completely moved to make one. And I *must* find some handspun yarn to use!
Does anyone have soft, pretty Aran weight handspun yarn to sell me? (I have paypal, and I’m not afraid to use it!) I’m excited enough about this to also make booties and hat to go with, so I’d need probably 500 yds total. I’ve been looking through the websites of the usual suspects and lots of people are all sold out! Reds, magenta, oranges, yellows, blues, greens, purple, brown…any color is good. Just not “baby” pink or “baby” blue! 
See, just the thought of starting this project has completely cheered me up!
ETA: AHA! I found the perfect stuff!! (See photo at top!) (But of course am always in the market!!)
Posted in Patterns, baby | 11 Comments »
That brown sweater from the back of the book
Friday, June 8th, 2007
Lots of people are asking about that darn sweater in my author photo. I finished it last summer, and I have been partway through the pattern for months (almost a year) now. I intended to have it ready for download LAST fall…but it’s still not ready. Albatross, anyone?
I know where it is and I have my notes. So. I just need to get it in gear, find a few quiet hours, and finish it up. It’s going to be for sale on my site but I’m not sure exactly when.
As soon as things slow down a little bit and I can get it finished up.
Warning: Pregnancy talk to the end of the post…SKIP if you don’t care!
I totally jinxed myself when I told everyone that I have no morning sickness. Most days I wake up completely fine (although early) and can go through the whole day without even a little bit of nausea. But then days like today…I just want to get back in bed. But I can’t. ‘Cause I’m at WORK. Hugo’s usually pretty good to me…but today something has him all worked up.
I’ve been making smoothies every morning, with fruit, yogurt, and soy milk. That’s how I make sure I’m getting all Hugo’s vitamins for the day (plus I take a prenatal vitamin and omega-IIIs) then after work I get the juicer out and throw in arugula (”rocket” in Germany), tomatoes, carrots, etc. so that I get all THOSE. I’m not a breakfast eater, generally, so I know there’s no way I’d eat 2 bananas, a peach, half a carton of strawberries, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of soymilk all before lunch if it wasn’t a smoothie. And work is so tiring for both Nate and me lately that I’m prone to just throw in a pizza after work, take a shower, and go to bed. So…the grinding up of healthy foods so that they can be consumed quickly and effortlessly has been a really great thing.
Some foods are just too strong. I can’t eat mustard or salad that has Italian dressing or balsamic vinegar. Texture is a big deal…no bean burritos. Rice is good. Smoothies are good. Pizza, for some reason, is good. Spaghetti. But anything too flavorful or texturally weird is bad.
Today my smoothie has a peach in it that’s slightly less than ripe. So the smoothie is TART. And Hugo doesn’t like it.
I was talking to a guy at work whose wife is having a baby this week sometime. I asked him how her first trimester was and he said, “She hated me. She hated all foods that she used to like. She was very very angry.” So I’m a little better off that that, at least. I’m not angry at all, but I am really tired! Which probably does make me a *little* grumpy.
But man, yeah. I’m SO TIRED!!