Gettin' Knitty!

I was just looking over my recent projects and realizing... I've been really hitting the Knitty patterns lately!

By request, I whipped up some fingerless mittens for a friend of my MIL. The first pair didn't turn out quite like I wanted them to. They were a bit loose and short for the recipient. So these went to the very nice person who did my hair while my regular person was on maternity leave. We had a little trouble getting it all worked out and she was so kind and patient with getting it right. I thought she deserved a treat.

(The rose is Miss N's birthday rose from Daddy... Aww...)

For the next pair, I went down a needle size and added a repeat of the cable at the top for the long fingers of the recipient. My hands are on the bigger/longer side and the second pair definitely fit better.

Pattern: Fetching from Knitty
Needles: US6 (first pair), and US5 (second pair)
Modifications: Added a cable repeat to the second pair for longer fingers
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, SGray

I finished seaming up the baby sweater! It wasn't as difficult as I thought. There is room for a little "fudge". That was a relief. But it was tedious. I can see sweaters knit but not seamed sitting around my house. Might be best if I leaned towards patterns that don't require seaming! We've had a very cloudy week around here. The clouds look like snow (you know that look they get) but so far none. They're saying tonight. Anyway, the light is just awful. This doesn't show the sweater to it's best but I had to get it in the mail! It really is quite a beautiful color yarn. The second picture of just the hat is much closer to the real color. I was a bit worried about this one... before I blocked it, it was curling like nothing I've seen before. It would curl itself up into a tube. I had fear it was all a waste. But... a little dunk in some water and I patted it out and it is sitting just perfectly now.

So, little Mr Elliot is the very special recipient of my very first sweater. Even though I don't get to just run over and meet him, he is in my heart. He is the second son of one of my very dear friends who lives on the other side of the state.

Pattern: Daisy Baby Sweater by Stephanie Pearl McPhee (also from Knitty)
Yarn: Dream In Color Classy - Summer Sky
Needles: US size 6
Mod's: I did the seed stitch borders a little wider than the pattern called for

And the hat... I LOVE this hat pattern. I have a feeling you'll be seeing lots of them. I just think it's so cute on those wrinkly little newborns! They already look like Elves... the hat just fits!

Pattern: Giving Pixie Hat from Little Turtle Knits
Yarn: Dream In Color Classy, Summer Sky
Needles: US size 7
Mod's: None

I feel like I've been a bad blogger lately. Things just seem to be SO busy! Life keeps picking up steam! I'm also trying to knit up these gifts as fast as I can. I've been battling with the Cigar pattern (yes, again, from Knitty) today. My gauge seems ridiculous. Maybe it's the bamboo DPN's. I'm just way loose. The nice part about having nearly all my needles the same kind (knit picks options) is that I have predictable gauge. Well... not so when I pick up any DPN above a size 3 as those are all Clover Bamboo. I like them better for the bigger DPN's, but they are unpredictable. Anyway... I'm attempting to make fingerless gloves for my brothers. They are both basketball players (Did I ever mention their team won the State Championship last year?) and they need to protect those hands while keeping their fingertips available for ball handling. So... off I go to try to work this out. I think they're ok even though my gauge is off... we'll see. This is try #2. Good thing it's not a sweater eh?