Finish Line in Sight and More

The small jumper I have been working on is almost complete. (From Very.Pink.com - Fiona Baby Sundress, designed by Staci Perry, cotton yarn in pink and variegated pink.) Note the little pleats between the body and the bodice. They are created by putting four stitches on a separate needle and then knitting in pairs each of the next four stitches together. It is a simple, yet effective, trick. Once the dress is blocked those pleats will become more obvious.

There remains an inch more stockinette stitch on the bodice, the top edging and straps. I am going with straps that can be buttoned in the back because little hands will be able to untie the icord straps. Below is an example of what I am thinking of doing with those straps. My buttons will be smaller, but it gives you an idea of what I intend to do. (BTW I am so happy to be almost done with what seems like an endless sea of stockinette stitches. Although some find this mindless knitting soothing, it is just boring and at times annoying for me. Because of the smaller sized yarn I decided to use there are still 100 stitches in the bodice and there were 200 in the skirt. I need something more exciting to keep me happy, I guess.)

And here's a photo of the buttons I decided to use. The pink is in the proper tonal zone and they are the proper size as well. What a bargain at 0.49 cents for the three of them.

While looking through my button stash, I found these lovely handmade buttons purchased a few years back at Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle. Buttons have a way of totally inspiring me; the lovely dark brown and pink got me thinking about sweater patterns, which reminded me of the Gramps sweater. If you don't quite remember check here. (Warning Mike, the cat, is prominent in the photo. Oh, I still miss that boy.)

The buttons have dictated the colour scheme for my next Gramps sweater knit especially for Sister #1, who I declare from now on will be called Miss A. Her mom and dad like to give out hints to the family about the name; no more Sister #1.

Now I know why I buy buttons, they are a reliable source for putting together appropriate colour combinations. This Gramps is going to be fun.

P.S. Can you tell there was no sun in these photos taken outdoors. Here it is July 12 and the temperature would remind one of April 12 or maybe even March 12 in the Lower Mainland. At least I am not needing to run the air conditioner. : -(

Comments

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing. I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away. Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close. Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening. As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend. Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration. I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms. (BTW

Yarn Barf

It's back to quirkiness and time to step away again from the cuteness for a while. But as you see I'm someone who slips from one to the other without much effort so anticipate this back and forth to be my new normal. A dramatization of me in the midst of my startitist frenzy Yarn barf . I'm willing to bet you hadn't thought of putting those two words together, had you? It just so happens yarn barf can be a reoccurring pain for those of us who use yarns that come in a skein instead of a hank. (No pun intended regarding the current Noro virus, well maybe a little pun.) Skeins of yarn wound by the manufacturer These are hanks which need to be wound into balls If you look closely at the picture on the right you'll see the start on the millet yellow skein at the centre right of the photo. Its start can easily be seen coming from the centre of the skein onto the violet skein to the left. Easy to find, right! Sure but what about the remaining 4

Flagel Knitting Files

Search This Blog