fo: p u r l s c a r f for maggie

Hooray, it's done! The congratulatory purl scarf for my sister is done! 

I used Malabrigo Worsted, madelinetosh merino light and Rowan kidsilk haze, and I love the way they look together. I stopped measuring it, though I suspect it's not quite as long as the pattern calls for - but it's still taller than me, and definitely long enough to loop comfortably around her neck. 

The photos don't really do the pretty yarns in this scarf justice. Not the most thrilling project to knit, but I could definitely see making one for myself in the future - perhaps with bigger needles and casting on a few more stitches, since this one is a lot skinnier than I pictured. So, yay scarf! Yay for managing to finish projects despite working round the clock!

Raveled here. 

wip: p u r l s c a r f

My baby sister is getting a children's book published (!!!) so as a congratulations present, I'm knitting her a scarf in her favorite color. She picked the base yarn (Malabrigo Worsted in Sapphire Magenta) and I picked the complimentary yarns and the pattern - the Purl Scarf, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. This was one of the very first knitting books I ever bought, and though I'm not a big scarf knitter, I've always wanted to knit this one. I'm knitting it on size 13s rather than 15s, mostly 'cause I don't have 15s, and it's definitely thinner than I expected based on the photos - if I made it again, I might add a few stitches to get a bulkier scarf. But I love the loose open rib and the way the colors all go together, so, here's hoping she likes it too? 

fo: i n t h r e e s

First FO of 2013 is also my first ever knitted gift for a baby! I don't know many people with babies - or at least, not people I know well enough to spring a handmade knitted gift on - but two friends of mine that I met five years ago in Vietnam had a baby girl a few weeks ago. Knowing nothing about babies, I can only hope that this fits and is the kind of thing she can wear maybe in the Spring when she gets a tiny bit bigger. 

The pattern is In Threes, and I used Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted in sage - which looked greener on the website (I'd been aiming for gender neutral, though no one could possibly care about pink or blue for boys and girls any more, right? Please say yes?) It's more of a robin's egg blue, though, which works for me since that's one of my favorite colors, and hopefully it works for the baby (or at least her parents). Also, it's crazy soft and superwash. 

The only modification I made was that I didn't include the garter bands that run down from the arm pits. This sweater knit up in five days of lazy knitting (babies, it's awesome how tiny you all are!), and I flagrantly disregarded my New Year's resolution to watch exclusively quality TV programming by devouring probably about ten episodes of Once Upon a Time to keep me company as I knit it. 

Raveled here. 

wip: i n t h r e e s

Way better at starting projects than finishing them lately: also on the needles is this cute baby sweater for my friends' new baby girl - In Threes, knitted in Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted.  Oh my god, babies are tiny, and this is going fast. Here's hoping I can finish it this weekend, maybe? 

non-gift hat

This is the prototype of a new hat pattern I am in the process of writing - it was supposed to be a hat for my sister, but it's a bit large - not a problem for me, as I like slouchy hats and can easily sew in some elastic if it gets too stretched out - but I'm not totally sure of her head-size, and so I actually made her a different one that was a tiny bit smaller in a different color, which is blocking right now. Better photos to follow soon, hopefully; if all goes well, I should be able to put it up for test knitting soon, where I'm hoping I'll find at least 2 takers given the insanely busy time of year.