Flint Knits

If you haven’t entered the contest for the woolgirl.com gift certificate, there’s still time! Go! Go!

Big thanks for all the kind responses to the February Lady Sweater!

If you’re interested in making a version that’s more faithful to Elizabeth Zimmerman’s original, several folks have made larger versions of the original baby sweater, by doing some serious math. I mentioned Jenny’s in my last post (could she be any cuter?), and you should also check out this super-gorgeous version. In fact, I just found out that Ravelry has a whole discussion going on about how to re-work the math for an adult size, with a few pictures of finished ones. (Shoulda known–there’s a Ravelry thread for everything.) And someone even made a grown-up version just by using superbulky yarn and the original pattern.

EZ’s original baby sweater is, of course, fucking brilliant in its construction. It has a lot of increases over a small number of rows, to create a rounded shape that will suit a wee baby’s round body. The pattern I wrote, on the other hand, is just a basic top-down raglan. This construction means that, instead of fitting a baby’s round body, it’s made to be fitted across an adult’s shoulders and upper back, then drape all swingy-like down from the bust (yeah, no, I could not get a job writing for J. Peterman). If you’re familiar with top-down raglan construction, you really don’t even need the pattern, just this one-sentence command: “knit a top-down raglan using EZ’s gull stitch pattern, with a row of 40-45 increases just above the bust.”

Finally, some folks have emailed because they’ve had problems making the raglan increases work. The issue seems to be around the phrase, “mark the next stitch.” This is not the same as “place a marker.” Rather, you mark the next stitch you knit. You can either place a marker on either side of that stitch, or slide a split ring marker through the knitted stitch, so that you know to put a m1 increase on either side of it for the raglan shaping. If you’re good at reading your knitting, you don’t even need a marker–just increase on either side of the same stitch each time. Hope this helps! (I’ll also go clarify in the pattern itself.)

I do actually have other knitting projects, too! I just started a pair of Sandra’s Charade socks in some Wollmeise sockenwolle that Kris sent me a while back.

But I’m not sure I love the striping. Should I embrace the striping? Or frog it and find a better pattern/yarn match? I beg you, be ruthless in your advice

Um. Could you do me a solid and go check out my dress in this contest? If I win, I get a free trip to New York, and a $1000 shopping spree. And my dress is pretty sweet, right? Plus, it’s handmade, which should definitely count for something.

If you go vote, leave a comment on this post saying you did. When the contest thingy is over in June, I’ll draw names and send a $20 WoolGirl gift certificate to some lucky voter. And if I win ? I’ll draw TWO names!

Thank you!!

ETA: So, apparently you have to “join” kaboodle.com in order to vote. If you’re not into that (I’m not), you can just give an address that you’ve got designated for spammy webcrap. Or, you can do what clever Nikki did: sign up, vote, and cancel your account. Thanks again, guys! xo

EATA: Kristi (who seems like a totally swell gal) admonishes that Kaboodle is in fact NOT spammy webcrap. So before you decide whether or not to ‘join,’ please take a moment to investigate Kaboodle and all it does or does not have to offer! I’m off to do that myself …

Monkey: We hereby dub thee … Ramona Bananapants.

First of all, it just rolls of the tongue, doesn’t it? Ramona Bananapants. Ramona Bananapants.

Second, it evokes a lovely kind of sexual/gender ambiguity: I mean, she’s Ramona! But she’s got a Banana in her Pants! (Take that, heteronormative gender fascists!) And, since Ramona lives on a queer grad student’s shelf where she regularly fondles (and, let’s be honest, humps) an ironically framed photo of Michel Foucault, it just seemed right.

Unfortunately, while Blogless Canadian Rebecca (yes, that’s her real name) chose the winning name, her entry came after the official deadline. SO, she is the proud winner of bragging rights and a small consolation prize.

The Woolgirl gift certificate will go to the runner up: the fabulous Heather, who suggested “Snatch” as a nod to Ramona’s vaginer-like countenance. As Ryan pointed out, sexually-themed names were clearly the way to go in this contest.

But don’t feel bad, Blogless Canadian Rebecca! I mean, no one remembers who got the crown when Vanessa Williams was robbed.

Thanks so, so much to everyone who entered those hilarious, adorable, thoughtful, and clever names. This was my favorite contest ever.

Oh, and I finished a pair of socks. Yeah, that’s right. A PAIR.

pattern: Nancy Bush’s Child’s First Sock in Shell Pattern, from Knitting Vintage Socks
yarn: Koigu Premium Merino, color #2504, from Yarnzilla
needles: 2.5mm Addi circulars

modifications: skipped 1 pattern repeat; substituted eye of partridge heel + wedge toe.

If you’re a sock knitter who hasn’t made this pattern yet, Do It. It was one of the most satisfying sock-knitting experiences I’ve ever had. That might have something to do with the yarn, though — semi-solid Koigu has never let me down.

And I only waited 8 months in between the two socks! (Laura is my sister in this — see her salty recipe for how to defeat Second Sock Syndrome. Or check out Megan’s strategy for embracing it.)

Happy Hump Day, all! I’m going to go spend mine with Ramona and Michel.
If you know what I mean.
(Know what I mean?)

Thanks to everyone who’s moved their subscriptions over to the new site! I’m still figuring out how best to organize and use the space, but it’s all terribly exciting.

And, of course, big thanks to everyone who participated in the Monkey contest. My friend has been given the list of potential Monkey names. (I suspect that, when he agreed to this, he didn’t realize that there would be 198 entries to read. So, uh, it’s unclear when he will get around to choosing one. Will keep you all posted and notify the winner as soon as possible.)

---

Because Lolly is apparently an endless font of clever ideas, this year’s Project Spectrum is organized around the elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

And, as part of her ongoing search for The Perfect Yellow, Megan has started a Flickr group for yellow handknits. (One consequence of this group is that I’m pretty sure all the knitters on Flickr will soon own some Colinette Jitterbug yarn in Vincent’s Apron.)

This is all leading up, of course, to a show-and-tell of my own recent yellow knits.This summer, Ashley and I met at Threadbear when they happened to be having a massive sale on Koigu Kersti ($3/hank), and I picked up the last 3 hanks of a killer mustard color.

And last month, it became a Bainbridge scarf made from Minty’s clever pattern, with some minor mods.

Instead of having two pieces that tie in front, I wanted a tab-and-button fastening. So first, I made a horizontal buttonhole halfway along the tube.

Then, on the inside of the tube, I made a seed-stitch tab with a buttonhole at the end.

Finally, I sewed a button onto the outside of the scarf.
The scarf wraps around my neck, and the tab pokes through the slot and buttons the whole thing closed.

[Ravelry link]
pattern: Bainbridge Scarf, by Pepperknit
yarn: Koigu Kersti
needle: US6 Addi lace circular

With the leftover yarn, I made some garter stitch mitts from Ysolda’s new pattern.

[Ravelry link] With their perfect little thumb gussets, these have already replaced my former go-to fingerless mitts pattern. Love them, love them, wear them all the time.

So, if I wanted to turn two hanks of the Jitterbug yarn (pictured above) into some knee socks that were warm, and fun to knit, but not so bulky that I couldn’t wear them under close-fitting boots, what pattern would you recommend?

I crafted (instead of just buyin’)
a gift for my awesome friend Ryan.
But what did I make?
A bird, or a snake?
or a hippo? or penguin? or lion?

Though Ryan’s a dreadful pool-shooter,
he couldn’t be smarter or cuter.
But to my dismay,
he lives far away,
so we chat a lot on the computer.

And on G-Chat’s weird smiley-designer
there’s a monkey! Oh, what could be finer?
(Though, once it’s assembled,
it also resembles
a hamburger or a vaginer.)

(seriously. if you use gchat, try it.) :(|)

So yarn and some beads (two the same)
and stuffing and beans soon became
this birthday gift of
a monkey to love.
Now won’t someone give it a name?

No monkey deserves this position,
to suffer this name-less condition.
No more can we stall it!
But what shall we call it?
Please enter a contest submission.

Only one entry per knitter:
a name that will fit him (or fit her).
Then Ryan will choose
which handle to use
as the one he bestows on the critter.

Deadline: 11:59pm Eastern Time on Monday, March 17.
The winner will receive a $20 Wool Girl gift certificate.
Bring on the names!

pattern: Crocheted Monkey by ChimuChimu
yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit 50 Cotton, with pink Koigu KPM scraps