Ducks Above; Fish Below

For my first Dale of Norway baby sweater I am using the basic shape of the Pusekatt pullover (pattern 11405) in booklet number114 and have added a border from the Lighthouse sweater (pattern 5402) in booklet number 54. I revised the border pattern because (for some reason I cannot fathom) it was designed with the fish on top and the ducks below.

I'm using 6 colors of Baby Ull: light blue (5703) for the body; deep blue (5726) for the yoke, sleeves, and the sky behind the ducks; navy (5545) for the deep water, the sleeve edges, the button band edges and the dividing line between the body and the yoke; gold (2317) for the fish, turquoise (6714) for the shallow water and the hem, and yellow (2015) for the ducks.



This next photo shows the inside, including the bright turquoise hem. I began with a crocheted provisional cast on and smaller needles, knit the hem, knit one row in the main color, purled a turn row, and continued to knit. Somewhere in there I changed to the larger needles. When the body was as deep as the hem, I undid the provisional cast on and knit the hem to the body using K2tog. The row of K2tog stitches shows on the front but with all the wiggling babies do I think knitting the hem on rather than sewing it on is the better way to go.

Regrets--I forgot to knit in the baby's name and/or the date. I don't want to use duplicate stitch now but will try to remember to put some text in the next time. The sleeves and upper yoke are complete but not yet photographed.

Next I have to drag out the sewing machine and stablize the armholes before I cut them.

Mini Mittens

These are from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. I should have made all my mittens in this size because they worked up very quickly. These, too, were made for the Native American Support mitten challenge. They are posing next to a hand embroidered hot pad a friend bought me in Israel.

Details
Yarn: Spinnerin "4 ply Fisherman" (worsted weight, no longer produced) in natural, dyed by me with food coloring and Jacquard Acid dye, 27.3 g. for both mittens
Needles: Inox 3.5 mm.(US 4) dpns
Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
Size: 5.5" circum., 6.5" long (to fit a 2-4 year old child)
Begun 9/7/07, completed 9/14/07

Twisted

The Sander's Mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia is my first project using three colors simultaneously. Keeping all the strands from twisting around one another is a bit of a challenge but I'm rising to it. I'm using Dale of Norway Falk in 0090 black, 6027 "ocean blue" and 8426 "grass green" and rosewood 2.5 mm dpns.

This is also my first time working the half-wick decrease which is used at the top of the mitten. It is similar to a centered double decrease but involves knitting two of the three stitches rather than just one.

The pattern contains an odd number of repeats and I didn't like the way they were off center when I began the decreases at the top. I solved the problem by keeping the edge stitches black and working three rows of alternating stitches in black and the pattern color. The motifs use three rows per pattern color so the new design balances the main design nicely. I wanted to use stranding rather than all black at the top so the mittens would be as warm as possible.

This photo shows the thumb. I asked some children in my Monday knitting class try it on and it is much too short so it will have to be frogged and reknit. Fortunately I haven't yet knit the thumb on the second mitten.

My Mom's Red Scarf

My mom crocheted a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. It looks like a mottled medium blue in the photo but is actually closer to what used to be called Prussian Blue and is solid. I don't recall the name of the yarn; it is similar to Plymouth Encore Worsted. The LYS only had two balls this color so it is a tad short. She used a standard chevron pattern and a size I crochet hook.

Cotton Beanie Number 4

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in Sky #403 and Jade #303; total weight 56.4 g.
Needles: 16" 3.75 mm. (US 5) Inox grey, 16" 4.5 mm. (US 7) Addi turbos and metal 4.5 mm. (US 7) dpns
Size: 72 stitches cast on, 17" circumference unstretched, 7 5/8" tall unstretched
Completed: 9/2/07
Made for Sand and Sea Knitting Guild Charitable Support (sidebar)

Odessa with Beads

I've made several of Grumperina's Odessa hats but this is the first one with beads. I love the pattern. It is easy and quick to make and looks great on. I enjoyed working the beads into the knitting. This one was made of a friend's friend's 11 year old granddaughter who lost her hair from chemotherapy. I hope she likes blue.

Details
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 (I think) 49 g.
Beads: 69 beads abut 3.75 mm each
Needles: 16" 3.5 mm. (US 4) Clover bamboo, 16" 4.0 mm. (US 6) Inox grey and 4.0 mm.(US 6)Plymouth Bamboo dpns
Begun 3/15/07 and completed 3/20/07

Eye Candy Friday presents N*k*d Ladies

They are called that because the flowers arrive long after all the foliage has died. I began with 5 plants purchased at a charity farmers market over 20 years ago. They reproduce without any human assistance (my kind of gardening). This year over 50 stalks shot up, each of which produced numerous large pink blossoms. These are from the south end of the garden fence.















This is a closeup of the ones on the north end.