I finally decided that if I'm ever going to get this ladybug sweater done, I have to just pick a needle size and make it work. I started the sleeve off on US3, which was giving me gauge, but then through the bugs it started to look, well, a little bugly.

So I switched to US2's for the light blue and lo and behold I got gauge, it looks fine. Too bad the bugs weren't part of the miraculous gauge transformation. I wasn't up for ripping them out and redoing them though, so they're staying.

Made it to the fabric store yesterday to pick up some notions for the kwiky project. I got matching thread and some ball point needles for working with knits. I also picked up an extra sharp needle for denim, because I've got a notion in my head of something I want to do with some old jeans. Here's what I'm thinking...

I've got these old jeans. Well, they're not vintage old, but they are 1998 old, which is old enough that the styling is a little 'not quite right', if you know what I mean. I like the jeans and they still fit me (you'll agree that this alone is reason enough to keep them!), but the one thing that really keeps me from wearing them is the cut at the ankle. Although they're not tapered in at the ankles (they're not that old), they do date from the pre-Gap-bootcut era and seem too narrow. They've also shrunk a bit from many washings and are so are a bit short.

My idea is to open up the outside seam at the ankle, maybe two inches, and make slits, like on capri pants. What do you think? It could change the look enough that it won't seem too narrow or too short. And it shouldn't be too hard to do, right? Just some topstitching over the seam allowance to hold everything in place, a little stitching across the top of the slit, like at the base of a zipper, and open up the seam.

Made a little progress on the second dale sweater, which I am now christening bugly. My friend and fellow Knitsmith, Julia - who taught me how to knit! - started this sweater a while ago and the bugs annoyed her so much that she called hers the cockroach sweater! So those of you out there thinking of making this sweater (like Julie), be warned. The rest of the sweater is easy knitting, but those dang bugs are a pain! Oh and if you're thinking about duplicate stitch, check this out.

In the comments on my last post, Meghan asked for recommendations for baby patterns. I don't have too many books with baby patterns, because I don't have too many friends with babies to knit for, but I my favorites are Double Knits by Zoe Mellor and Pipsqueaks from Kim Hargreaves. Of course, the Phildar layette and baby catalogs are also wonderful. (You can see the most recent ones at the Phildar website or browse through them all here. The latest one is available in english at knit 'n tyme.)

From what I hear, a lot of people really like Simple Knits for Cherished Babies and if I expected to make a lot of baby items, I think that would be the next book I'd pick up. And, in my humble opinion, you just can't go wrong with any of the Debbie Bliss baby books.

That's all my recommendations. Anyone else care to share her/his faves?

Success! I was real nervous at first about stitching through all that denim. Alison had warned me in my comments that it could get hairy. But the sharp needle worked like a dream and my little Bernina made it through without a hitch. Despite somehow sewing the front of the ankle opening to the back a couple of times, everything went really well.

I topstitched through the seam allowance, after marking my stitching line with tape, just like my book says to do for topstitching zippers. And then I stitched across the top and ripped the seam. Voila!

Here I am modelling my new old pants in my bedroom mirror. (PS - that's my neglected-of-late knitting basket behind me.)

After all the stress of working on bugly, I went back to the relative ease of the minimono for a bit. I finished the second sleeve and seamed up the side and arm seams. Now I only have to make little I-cords for ties and do some sort of neck edging (forgotten what the pattern calls for).

I'm pretty sure that I want to make matching booties. And I can't get Sarah's idea about a coordinating diaper cover out of my head. Anyone know a good pattern for such a thing? I think this could be such a cute item of clothing for a baby born in the summer. But maybe not in chenille. Suggestions?

One bugly sleeve down. One to go. Bugly body to follow.

I'm about halfway done with a prototype pair of kwikies. I've been working out the pattern and trying all the various seams. I haven't ever worked with stretchy knits before, so I've been doing a lot of testing. Eli sent me some helpful links about working with knits: here and here (thanks, Eli!). It's been real fun trying out new things with the sewing machine. I got to use my ball point needles and the overlock foot!

So far this prototype pair has come out a bit short in the crotch and the seams are all a bit puckery, but otherwise, I'm really liking them. And B doesn't seem to mind them either!

I'll make some adjustments to the pattern and, after practicing a bit more, should have a better sense of how to make those stretchy seams come out smoother. Next, I've got to add elastic at the waist (another first!) and figure out how to use my neato twin needle to do the hem.

The bugs on the second sleeve of the Dale ladybug sweater are looking so much better than those on the first. They're actually pretty smooth and the sleeve doesn't poof out over that section. Makes me want to redo the first one. M u s t   r e s i s t .

I credit the improved tension to my having given up on the two-handed thing. Kathy mentioned in her blog that she's considering going back to using just one hand. And Teresa also came out as a one-hand-two-color knitter. So at least I'm in good company. The important thing is to get gauge, right? Who cares how you get there! I'm still using both hands to do the small color work, though: alternating one or two stitches in different colors. But the bugs are different every row and for some reason my tension just gets shot over larger floats and multiple rows with two hands. Maybe with more practice, I can improve my technique and really do it "right" again, but right now, I'd rather have a good looking sweater. Is that so wrong?

And speaking of good looking sweaters, check out Caroline's newly finished version of the volkswagen Dale sweater!

Oh no! A little hole has formed in one of the first socks that I made. I love these socks. Darning tips, anyone?

Still collecting info on darning socks (see yesterday). I realize that darning socks is a lost art, but doesn't anyone darn sox out there? I wonder if he could help?

Lisa shared this great link in the comments yesterday:

Stocking Web Darning from Once Upon a Pattern

And here are a couple of other clear explanations that I found through Google:

How to Darn a Sock from About.com

Darn Those Socks! from HJS Studio

I think I'm going to try the duplicate stitching as explained in the last link. Now I just need to slip on my best civil war era gown and I'm ready!

The weather here has been toying with us long enough. If warm weather won't come on its own, then I'll have to make it myself. Or so I thought. This evening at our Boston-area Knitbloggers Knitnight, I cast on some Rowan all season's cotton for this lovely summer top and happily knit away, drinking my hot chocolate and dreaming of spring. Got home, checked the size and whoops! Guess my gauge changed a little as I drifted off to sunnier days to come. I suppose it would fit if summer never came and I had to just pull the tank on over my JCrew sweater! Well, no summer outing would be complete without a trip to the (frog) pond....

I haven't done any sewing for several days. We're getting ready to go on a little vacation and I'm trying to bring all my knitting projects to a point where I can leave them for a week - or start new ones that I can bring along (tee hee). And although I've got several sewing projects going on right now (the kwiky prototype, the groovy pj's, and yes, still dressy!), I don't feel like I have to get them to a certain stage before I go. I seem to be approaching these sewing projects the way I do my knitting projects. I sort of go back and forth between different projects: work a bit on the kwikies, then sew a few seams on the pj's until I get to a new technique, and continue to avoid the last few difficult steps on dressy.

Is that atypical for sewing? I have to keep changing the needle and foot, and rethread each time I switch projects, but I like having the choice of what to work on tonight. Somehow, I think it keeps me a little more interested in and excited about all of my projects. So do hobby seamstresses also have multiple WIPs and UFOs?

(Due to issues with my server space, I lost the comments for this entry! Please feel free to post again with the same or new comments.)

Here's the minimono just as cute and snuggly as can be. I'm pleased with how it came out, although I think I'll probably adjust those ties a bit so they're all the same length. I had a hard time with the ties actually. The instructions call for a garter stitch i-cord. Well, I couldn't get any kind of i-cord to look okay in the chenille. It was too bulky and because I couldn't really pull the chenille too tight without breaking it, I couldn't get a nice round cord to develop. I tried crocheting a small chain, but that just looked pathetic, rather like the regular yarn but more limp. So I did a twisted cord. It was actually kind of fun tying the yarn to the doorknob, twisting it around and watching it kink up. I made an extra one and ran it through the wash just to be sure that it would stay twisty.

Now the only problem is that my little kimono is all alone-o. (Sorry, couldn't help myself there.) It needs accessories so it can be part of a fabulous matchy-matchy set. I've started Kate's happy baby hat, which I'll modify to have the same edging as the kimono, and am also planning some matching booties. I have a few patterns sent to me by Kerrie, queen of the booties, which I should be able to adapt.

Hubby's birthday is right around the corner, so it's time to pick up that vest I started so long ago and get cracking! I've finished the back and will be bringing the rest with me on vacation next week. We've got a 12 hour car ride, but I'm not sure I'll get any knitting done, since whoever's not driving is on baby-entertainment duty and I know the boys don't find my knitting all that entertaining.

For those who are curious, we're going to a boardgaming convention in Ohio. Last time we went was two years ago when I was six months pregnant with the boys. There are lots of pics of us at the convention here. Boardgaming is my other hobby, but since the boys were born I've become more of a homebody and don't get out to play very much. So next week, I'll be putting the knitting needles down for a bit to catch up with my gaming buddies. And when I'm not gaming, I'll be out with the kiddies finding fun stuff to do in Columbus. Whew, I'm tired already!

Could it be that spring has actually arrived? One would think so with all the bugs around! (Grin.) That's right, sleeves are done and I'm not bringing the crazy bug sweater with me next week. I'm taking a little vaca from tiny needles! Along with my husband's vest, however, I will be bringing the recently-frogged all season's cotton top with me to start over again. Lovely cotton, lovely colors, lovely size 8 needles.... now all we need for a lovely vacation is some lovely weather. Please!!

Twenty-four hours until we hit the road for Columbus and the stress level is rising. There's just so much to plan and get done before tomorrow. I'd hoped to finish the minimono-matching happy baby hat before we left, but that was a bit unrealistic. It's my own fault though, because I stopped working on it here, at the point of picking up stitches to make the ear flaps, and decided to cast on the front of my husband's brown vest.

Casting on is, after seaming, often the hardest part of a project for me. It seems as if I'm always counting wrong and having to rip and cast on again. And I prefer the look of the knit-on cast-on, which is unfortunately way slower to do than the basic two tail method. So my brilliant plan was to cast on and do the ribbing at knitting group on Sunday and then I'd have the simple stockinette to do in the car. I cast on, counted, recounted, did the ribbing and was the whole time slightly concerned that it wasn't cinching in as much as the ribbing on the back. Hmmmm.... Finished the ribbing at home, went to switch to larger needles, and -- you guessed it -- I was using the larger needles already. Doooh!

In order to recouperate, I started reknitting the Rebecca tank. Despite having knit almost the entire first skein for a size too large, I am really loving this project. The actual knitting is a dream! I cast on correctly (both times now!) and was able to knit away happily. I credit the yarn for making this project so enjoyable regardless of whether I'm really progressing or not. (I think I'm becoming addicted to it -- I've got several more happy all season's cotton tanks planned already!) Last night, I only indulged in a couple of inches of happy, because I'm saving the rest for the twelve-hour car ride.

Now back to the packing. A bag of happy for mommy, and a case of happy for the boys and we're all set! I'll probably be able to update once or twice while we're away, but I'll miss being able to surf through all my daily reads. Please keep stopping by and sharing your comments. I'll catch up with you all when I get back. Until then, happy knitting!

My children amaze me. They were great for the whole ride to Columbus. They enjoyed themselves in the car looking at their books and listening to music, and had an even better time checking out all the trucks at the rest stops. When we would get out of the car to go look at the big rigs, it was like they were thinking, 'oh, yeah, no wonder we drove four hours to get here, this rocks!' They did get bored and a little cranky right before we stopped to have dinner, but nodded off after we ate and slept until we arrived late last night. What great little troopers they were!

Between pointing out trucks and picking up dropped toys, I was even able to knit the sleeves for my Rebecca tank. Cute, no? There's lots of fun to be had here in Columbus and at the convention, so I probably won't get much more knitting done until the trip back. But I should be able to post some vacation pics over the next few days. Stay tuned for the blue blog on vacation!

It was a beautiful day here in Columbus yesterday and it would have been silly to waste it sitting inside playing games, so we went to the zoo. B's favorite thing at the zoo had to be the old carousel. S was a little afraid of it, so he just watched as B rode again and again. Oh yean, we even saw a few animals!

And while the boys slept off the excitement of the zoo trip, I finished the back of the Rebecca tank. Not terribly exciting, but I like those neat decreases a few stitches in from the edge and I am still absolutely madly in love with the yarn. And with the weather so nice here, I'm starting to be able to imagine myself wearing my little tank soon!

Well, I couldn't go on vacation without researching whether there was a good knitting shop in the area! After spending a couple of hours at a local playground with the boys yesterday, I took a chance and took them with me to Wolfe Fiber Arts right in Columbus. What a great store! They had tons of great yarn and books and a lot of really good needles and neat notions, too (I'm a sucker for notions!). And I have never seen so many patterns in one place before. Simply incredible. I wish I'd had more time (baby-free time, that is) to really take a look at them all. The boys were very good though and the shop was quite baby-friendly. My double stroller was a bit too big to push around the store, but the ladies in the shop chatted with the boys by the hearth near the entrance (the store is in an old house) and read a few baby books with them. Bonus! I ended up finding some patterns I hadn't seen elsewhere and snapped them up, along with some more Rowan all season's cotton (did I mention that I am in love with this yarn?!). With the boys being so good and the store so great, how could I not get a little something? If you're ever in Columbus, I totally recommend this store. I'm looking forward even more to coming back to the convention next year, so I can go back to Wolfe Fiber Arts!

Otherwise, I've been having too good of a time playing games to really do much knitting. Minimal progress on the front of the Rebecca tank is all I have to report. Hey, I'm on vacation!

Every new truck is like falling in love all over again. B fell for this truck yesterday at the little kidspace at Cosi, Columbus' huge science museum. They have tons of bouncy balls for throwing and rolling, a water area for splashing (complete with little raincoats!), and blocks for building. The kids had such a good time that we went back this morning.

All in all, I've been so impressed with Columbus and its various attractions that I'm a little smitten myself! And as far as knitting goes, I'm still ga-ga over my all season's cotton tank. I've made progress on the front and with a little luck should be able to finish it on the trip, so I can start on the yoke after we get back.

We made it home! The boys were great, although we got nervous when we hit a massive post-Easter, pre-marathon traffic jam on the Mass Pike at about 11pm last night. But they slept right through it and were happy to be back home in their own beds an hour later.

The all season's cotton tank is looking good - I'll post an update photo when I get to the yoke. I've also got a problem with the blog here that I've got to work on. Something happened with the server while I was on the road and things are disintegrating just under the surface. Yikes! But first I have to unpack. Vacation off!

Bad news first. It looks like I'm going to have to delete and reinstall my blogging software. Ugh! My webhost did something last week that caused some database corruption and I'm losing more data every day. At this point, I'm having to do my archives by hand. Double ugh! The reinstall is going to be a huge job, since I've got several blogs each with its own templates, configuration and archiving systems. Triple ugh! I can see that there will be very little knitting going on this weekend.

Good news. I'm working on the yoke of the all season's tank and it's looking great. I can't wait to wear it! And for all of you who aren't yet tired of seeing pics of the boys: here they are at the marathon yesterday.

I'm now ribbing and no longer ripping. The front of the brown butter vest is finally underway. Getting this piece started has been such a nightmare! I've had a least four failed attempts, several due simply to stupid miscounting. Argh! The vest is supposed to be done for hubby's birthday (that's two weeks, for those who are counting). Can she do it?

I have to admit that I'm having a hard time staying focused on this project. The 4mm needles seem so small in comparison to the 5mm's that I'm using for the tank top and since the vest is for my man and not one of my two-year olds, it's like gigantic. Plus, I'm knitting it continental style, and although I am getting much better using my left hand, it's still quite a bit slower than using my right. It just seems like it will be an eternity before I complete the endless rows of the body and make it to the armholes. Miles to go before I decrease.

Note to self: next time make socks for hubby. on big needles.

Good news first. My web host had a backup of my blog's database (yes, I'll be keeping my own backup from now on!), and was able to restore everything to where it was about two weeks ago. And I managed to transfer over the newer entries so they weren't lost. What a relief!

Bad news. While all this was happening, some of you visited the blog and left nice comments, which have been lost during this process. Please feel free to share your comments again, or write new ones. I miss knowing that you all stopped by! Let me know if you have any problems accessing the site, archives or comments. Thanks!

OK, blue blog back online and fully operational.

First it was the vacation, then the blog crash and rebuild. I am so behind on my sewing projects! I should have that first pair of kwikies done by now and what's the hold up on groovy anyway? I thought about this (instead of just sewing) and realized that both of these projects are stuck at the waistband. So why am I hung up on the elastic casing? I don't really think that it's going to be that hard, but clearly I'm avoiding it.

Please just tell me it's a breeze and I should get over it. I need the kick in the behind!

Fixing the blog took most of my knitting time yesterday, but I found a few minutes here and there to sew up the all season's cotton top. There's still a few loose ends hanging around on the inside, but I felt like I needed to celebrate it now. I like the way it came out, although I'm a bit wary of the off-the-shoulder thing. I'm quite attached to the idea of wearing underclothes, but you know those Rebecca girls certainly aren't. It's very comfy though and the ribbing at the top that holds it up works amazingly well. It has plenty of hold, but doesn't feel tight or look too stretched out. I think the all season's cotton ended up being a great choice of yarn.

In fact, I liked the result so much that I've got many more all season's cotton tops planned. I'm scouring through my pattern books to find other little tanks that I can make with this yarn. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of trying one of the Cherries from the last Knitty and/or a short-sleeved version of Sweetness. I actually have enough of the yarn left over from this one that I could make another one exactly like it but with the colors reversed. Tempting.

Didn't get any knitting done yesterday night, since I was running around from store to store trying to find a matchbox car for the boys. We went out in the morning to get more matchbox cars - as we seem to have some sort of matchbox car black hole somewhere in our home - and I bought what turned out to be a mega cool garbage truck and an apparently lame-o fire tanker. The boys ended up having a huge meltdown at home after fighting over the garbage truck and I felt so bad about it that I was determined to find a second one, so each of them can have his own. Heck, they're only 84¢!

While we were out in the morning buying the crisis-inducing matchbox cars, I picked up a skein of Lion Brand's Cotton Ease. There are so many knitbloggers making Sitcom Chic and saying good things about this yarn that I thought I should check it out. I'm all about cotton now, so finding an inexpensive cotton yarn that I like would be a good thing. But no playing with the new yarn until I make some progress on brown butter. This evening, I'm sitting down in my chair and am not getting up until I've got a few more inches done. Unless of course the black hole sucks up one of the garbage trucks.

I screwed up my courage to do the waistband on the kwiky prototype and realized that I don't have the right elastic. I bought some for my groovy pajamas which I thought I could just swipe it for this project, but it's too big. I didn't want these to have a wide waistband and didn't plan enough allowance into the pattern. So no waistband yet.

The machine is all set up for the kwikies and I'm worried I won't be able to get the tension right again, so instead of switching back to groovy, I went ahead and stitched the hems on the legs. My first hems!! I used the twin needle for the first time and it was so cool. They're not perfectly straight, but I think they came out pretty well.

And I went ahead and cut out fabric for three more kwikies. Another in gray and then two in brown. I should have enough to make shorts if I decide I like the fabric and the pattern.

If found, please return to alison at the blue blog.

I did manage to sit down for a bit yesterday and work on hubby's brown vest. I even made it to my goal of three inches, but I'm still overwhelmed with how much there is left.

I've got so many other projects piling up. Correction, I've got too many other projects. I would call for another month long finish-fest, but some of the projects can wait. For example, giranimals II just needs the embroidery and seaming, but no one's going to wear it before September. And even bugly could wait until the end of the summer, since it's also for cooler weather and is sized up. Plus, I've got some summer sweaters planned for the boys (remember this?), which I should get cracking on if they're going to be done during the warm weather.

Yes, thoughts of summer and summer knitwear have overtaken me. I'm compiling a list of possible tops for the all season's cotton, so be ready to vote next week!

Tank girl wants more tanks. Please help her decide from this list of lovelies....

Very cherry

From the latest Knitty. My top pick so far.

Sweetness

Another great pattern from this season's Knitty. I'd make it with short sleeves of course.

Pagan from Rowan #27. The only one on the list actually designed for all season's cotton, so no need to do any pattern modification here. I'd probably add some stripes to make it more interesting.

More stripes! I've wanted to make this striped sweater from Rebecca #17 for a long time. Not sure if I'd have enough or the right colors to make the stripes look as pretty as in the picture, though.

After seeing Carolyn's new halter, I've been thinking about something similar. Strech marks prevent me from doing the exposed navel thing, but this little top from Rebecca # 24 seems like a good compromise.

Maggie from Rowan #31. I love this top! Lengthening it should be no problem, but would it work in the all season's cotton?

Shells also from Rowan #31. Simple, but classy. And I can see it working well in the all season's cotton.

I think this racerback tank from Interweave Knits Fall 2002 is totally cool. I had been considering it for some cotton glace odds and ends though.

Ha, ha!

While thinking about which summer top I should make next -- what about this one, which I've already got all the yarn for? --, I've been working away dutifully on brown butter. And I made it to the armhole decreases! Sooner than I thought actually. I'd been knitting and knitting, shooting for 40cm and when I finally got there and compared the piece to the finished back, it was too long! Thankfully one of the Knitsmiths figured out my error. The 40cm was to be measured from the cast-on edge and I'd knit the front 40cm from the ribbing. That meant that I had to rip out a few centimeters, but I didn't really lose any ground, since I'm still at the armhole decreases. So it's all good!

Peter's joking mention of "soft girly porn" in his comment to Monday's parade of tank tops reminded me of something going on here at the blue blog that I like to call "the hottie phenomenon".

Remember my hotties from a few months ago? Well, I get a lot of hits related to them, most from people searching for hot water bottle cover patterns. The majority find me through Google, some from a Knitters Review thread about hip knitted hot water bottle cosies and a few from a post at der kleine Sockhaus back in January. I had no idea that so many people were interested in making these things!

The funny thing is that I also get hits from people just searching for hotties. I've even had several search for "texas hotties" (I posted that my great-aunts, for whom I made the hotties, live in Texas). Now, I'm pretty sure that hand knitted hot water bottle covers is not what these people were hoping to find from their Google search. Heh, heh. Well after this post, I'll be sure to be moving up on the Google results list!