Too Big

My niece and the hat I made for her father:

Adorable.

I'm trying out a new iPad app called Blogsy, this is a test to see if I can make it work with my Blogger account.

I haven't felt like knitting since I finished up some hats in January (which haven't been posted here yet, will get on that). Last month I ordered more green and blue yarn from Knitpicks to make Sounders gloves or socks but haven't started anything.

I doubt I'll need gloves next month for the Timbers match over at Qwest but I have tickets to see DC United in September and gloves could come in handy (pun!) then. I'm pretty excited about seeing Charlie Davies play in person, I'm hoping he stays healthy so Seattle can show him some love too.

OK, I'll try to post this with Blogsy now...

Tri-Colorwork hat

This hat looks a little strange with patterns from three different sources (Egypt, Russia, and Scandinavia) but it's not boring. I'll discuss the hem after the photos, feel free to ask via email or in the comments if you need clarification on anything.


yarn: Knitpicks Palette
needle: US size 1 (2.25 mm) for body




For the inside-out colorwork fans



This hem takes more time than ribbing but I think it's worth the end result. I like how clean it looks and it yields more room to show colorwork. We don't need to waste an inch or so on ribbing before we get to the good stuff. You can also use ultra soft yarn, like angora, on the inside.

For this hat I used three needle sizes: US 0, US 1 (2.25 mm), and US 2. I'll write the following overview with that in mind, the little details change depending on your gauge, your needles, and your pattern. This is an overview of how it works and not a set of instructions.

1) I cast on the same number of stitches (204 stitches) that will be used for the main part of the hat, using a provisional crochet cast-on with thin cotton string over a size 2 needle. The cotton scrap will later be removed.

2) Knit 1 round with the size 2 needle.

3) Switch to the size 0 needle and knit ?? rounds (?? = depends)

Determining how many rounds to knit with the smallest needle is a little tricky if you want to join the hem to the body at a specific point (like between two charts). If you're knitting a plain hat or don't care then it isn't a problem, just knit about 1.5" and PURL 1 round before starting the outside of the hat.

If you care where the hem is joined to the hat body then you can swatch and do the math (determine the difference in row gauge between the size 0 needle and the size 1 needle). I prefer to make an educated guess and then add some rounds to the hem if more rounds are needed to match up to a specific round on the body. To add more rounds simply release the stitches from the cotton string, put them on the size 2 needle, and knit as many rounds as you need. (These stitches won't unzip from the cast-on edge the same way they easily unzip when you frog back to fix a mistake. For this reason it's probably better to under-estimate how many rounds you need for the hem.)

4) Purl 1 round, this makes a crisp fold line.

5) Switch to the size 1 needle and knit the body of the hat until you reach the point where the hem should be secured to the hat.



6) Consider duplicate stitching a 1" horizontal line in highly contrasting yarn on the inside hem to mark the back of the hat. (The back of the hat is usually where the jog happens -- where the rounds start and end.) You can get fancy and duplicate stitch more than a line, like initials or the year.

7) This step is kind of obvious, but important. Weave in all ends. You're closing up the hem so you won't later have access to any ends that will be hidden inside the hem.



8) Release the 204 held stitches by pulling out the cotton string, it should unzip easily if you pull from the correct end. That's the end with the 204th (final) stitch. Put them on a spare 16" circular needle (the size 0 works better than the size 2).



9) Fold the hem in half (it will want to fold at the purl round, no special effort required) and stuff it up inside the hat. At this point you'll be holding two circular needles together. The inside needle (size 0) will have the hem stitches, the outside needle (size 1) will have the main hat sts. Working in pattern, knit 1 st from the outside needle and 1 st from the inside needle together. Continue working around until all 204 hem sts are secured to the hat and the spare size 0 needle is empty. You'll still have 204 sts on the size 1 needle.





I love it!

We are the USOC Champions, my friend (and a new hat)

I never had a doubt. :)


Osvaldo Alonso leaps over the pack to celebrate Sanna Nyassi's first goal in the USOC Final -- I love the little boy in the front row with his arms outstretched, he will always remember that moment! (click to see detail)
photo from soundersfc.com


L to R: HERO Sanna Nyassi, Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso
Seattle Sounders FC
back-2-back Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Champions
2009 & 2010


I finished the hat in time too:



This was blocked with a steamer before the photo was taken but it wasn't wet blocked (my preferred method). It's soaking right now and I might take a better photo later.

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette
Needle: size 1 - 2.50 mm (WRONG CHOICE ARGH, I should have used size 1 - 2.25 mm. Seriously stupid preventable mistake. I thought I used 2.25 mm on the previous hat, made with the same yarn and same number of sts cast on, and I wanted this one a little bigger, so going from 2.25 to 2.50 seemed perfectly reasonable. But the first hat was actually knit on size 0 - 2.0 mm. I was wondering why this one turned out bigger than expected! Always double-check, don't assume. It's one reason why I keep this blog, so I can confirm the yarn or needle size I used for a previous project. D'oh. Lesson learned. If wet blocking and shocking it with hot water doesn't help it will fit my brother if he wants it.)

About the USOC Final:

31,133 fans gave their full 90. We cheered, screamed, jumped for joy, sang, chanted, ranted, and clapped as one. The energy in the stadium was out of control, from first to final whistle, I've never experienced anything like it in my life! It's impossible to describe, I've tried and failed. This video is a small taste, which still falls short (for one thing you miss the NOISE):



This next video can't be embedded but it's worth watching! It gives a better idea of the crowd intensity and how excited we were. Only thing it's missing is Arlo White's voice. :)

http://www.mlssoccer.com/videos?catid=112&id=9424

I think it's incredibly cool that fans were asked to carry our 2009 Cup to Qwest during the March to the Match.



One thing I really love about Sanna Nyassi's first goal is that he was knocked in the head by the Crew GK but he didn't flop to the ground, no! He kept his wits about him, quickly sighted the ball, and drove it into the back of the net when it bounced his way. He was feeling no pain at that point. Sanna, I wish I had a baby to name after you.

To put our attendance number in perspective, there were 17,329 fans at the 2009 USOC Final in Washington, D.C. The previous USOC record of 21,583 was set way back in 1929. We are a little proud of 31,133 in Seattle. :)

Now we set our sights on the MLS post-season, which we have a 98.8% chance of making. Three matches left, we just need one tie or win and we move up to 100% in for sure.

Why October 5th is a very important day this year

I've barely made a dent since the last post (distracted by Other Things) but now I have an incentive to get it done before October 5th ...



... so I can wear it to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final in Seattle, where the Sounders will destroy the Columbus Crew to win the Cup two years in a row. MUAH. It's been over 25 years since a team accomplished back-to-back US Open Cup wins, which means no MLS side has pulled it off. Until now.

Watch this video, you will love it (maybe more with the sound turned low). It's a recap of the US Open Cup semi-final match against Chivas USA, which was beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWWVB6-nkU

You might have missed this, it was streamed online but not on TV, so it's worth watching the recap if you didn't catch it live/online. You're seeing Tukwila's Starfire stadium in the video, it's a small intimate venue where the Sounders prefer to host their US Open matches due to the advantages it gives them over opponents. They cram it to capacity and intimidate the hell out of the other side, they simply can't lose here. :)

My favorite moments:
1) Zakuani working the ball and feeding it to Jaqua for goal #1 (I could watch that all day long)
2) Jaqua/BRAINS (this refers to a match last season where Jaqua sported a bloodied head bandage after a collision, thus Zombie Jaqua was born. Looks like ZJ got a little excited about the possibility of a snack there on the pitch.)
3) Jaqua's fearless header goal to seal the win 3-1 in extra time. Look at the way he charges at the ball with the keeper and defender in his path. Fearless!!

Fredy's goal (also assisted by Zak) was sweet too, but gotta give my love to Nate Jaqua and his domination of all things US Open Cup. I hope he scores in the FINAL (October 5th!) so he'll have the most goals in the 2010 tournament -- he's tied at 5 right now.

The FINAL of course will be held at Qwest in downtown Seattle. Tuesday, October 5th, 7 PM. We will break attendance records for an US Open Cup match (easily done in Seattle) but we want them to open the upper levels, which they will only do if the lower levels sell out. WE CAN DO THIS! October 5th, tickets on sale now! Let's get Qwest rocking and make the Crew sorry they bothered to get out of bed.

Look for me and my hat. :)

Hat in progress and Electricity! and soccersoccersoccer

Right now I am working on a hat I put together using Fair Isle patts from a couple different books.



That isn't exactly rave green, but it's nice. I think the crown will have white on a green background.

I'm repeating two different patts around the hat so I made some stitch markers with #1 and #2 beads (a bead with a heart on it marks the end of the round) so I can tell at a glance which patt I'm working on.



I bought a container of number and letter beads at the dollar store for this specific purpose a couple years ago and finally had a reason to make numbered stitch markers for a project.

Moving on...

Anyone want to yarn match the Sounders "Electricity" 3rd kits? (Electricity is another word for blinding yellow.) Here's the color, modeled by Fredy Montero:


soundersfc.com

Very helpful!

OK, that was just a joke in case you couldn't tell, I have zero interest in yarn matching this color. It's a little extreme for me, but it looks wicked on the pitch don't you think? I wasn't sure what to make of it when they rolled out these 3rd kits at the beginning of the season but I'm digging them now.

Some soccer news:
I know Sounders fans read this blog because I received great comments when I wrote about translating the team colors to yarn last year. So I'll keep talking and you can leave now if you don't like soccer.

The above photo is from the Sounders vs Metapan game in El Salvador a couple weeks ago (for the CONCACAF Champions League, not an MLS game), it wasn't on network TV or basic cable so if you missed it be sure to watch this video of El Flaco's goal. It's world class and Riley deserves credit for putting the ball right where it needed to go. Hit that link and scroll down, you'll see the video ready to click on.

I know, right?!

Does the Front Office know what it's doing? YES. Brilliant work signing Fernandez. Guys, just one little thing: Fredy Montero needs to be DP #3. You know he's worth it. If we let that kid slip away I will fall apart and you don't want to see me in pieces.

This is one reason why I love the team, they published this statement on their website after the match in El Salvador:

We play for club. We play for city. We play for country. We play for our first Champions League trophy. We play for you.

They totally get it.

Now...

If you have a USL/PDL soccer team in your area please check them out. I attended some Kitsap Pumas matches this season and those kids rocked my world. They exceeded my expectations. I had been watching Pumas videos on YouTube but it's not the same thing. You miss a lot of action if you only watch the goals.

The Pumas are a top notch team in their league, but they're in the PDL (which is the 3rd tier in USL) so I wasn't sure if they'd keep me entertained. How good could they be, you know? Would this be like watching high school boys kick the ball around? NO. They were fierce, they played with heart and a passion that is missing from some MLS teams (cough). They have skills mama. No joke. Go see if your local team can match my experience with the Kitsap Pumas. The boys in PDL feed off your support. They play for the love of the beautiful game and it shows in their efforts. Allez Pumas!

If you want to follow my soccer tweets you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/rave_green - I mainly stick to joyful noises about the Sounders and the USMNT (US Mens' National Team), if I have access to Twitter while watching a match I will comment on goals or something that happens.

Komi Cap, KnitPicks Palette, and World Cup thoughts

Here we have a Komi cap knit during the World Cup, started after the USMNT went home. (If you enjoyed watching the US team then click on that link, you will love it.) I can't knit when they're playing, I'm either sitting and too nervous to do anything productive (this is how I behave when others are in the room, like I'm actually sane, hee!) or pacing around and talking/pleading/crying at the TV and rending garments (that's me all alone when others had the good sense to be asleep). I only wish Charlie Davies had been healthy, we needed him badly and I'm certain we would've won more with him on the pitch. Did you know not a single USMNT striker scored a goal in this World Cup? Charlie would've scored, just sayin.' Still super proud of our boys for winning their group, but they expected to go even further so the 2-1 loss to Ghana was heartbreaking. It's a good sign we felt disappointment instead of simply being elated to make it out of the group stage.

I was cheering on Spain in the World Cup final, partly because USA beat Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup last year, and it's pretty cool to know our boys can shut out the best national team in the world. Iker Casillas was in goal, which made it even sweeter. I love and respect the guy, but you want to score on the best, right? ¡Viva España! They deserved to win the World Cup, Iker deserved his Golden Glove award, I'm happy for them.

WHAT, this is a knitting blog? I mean, when I actually get around to blogging. All right, back to knitting. It's 4 years until the next World Cup, you can be thankful I don't blog about the Sounders every week. (DID YOU SEE the Nyassi -> Montero -> Levesque's head goal in the 89th minute last night? To win the game 1-0?! And Kasey Keller showed once again why he is Man of the Match FOR LIFE.)

OMG NO MORE SOCCER STOP TALKING ABOUT SOCCER




For those who enjoy seeing colorwork inside-out
(It gives me an idea of how the same patt would look as light
on dark or vice-versa, depending on your original colors)

I'm not sure who will get this. My older brother is still wearing a Scandinavian hat I made for him several years ago. When he saw me working on this Komi cap last week he asked if it was for him but it might be too small, he has a gigantic head. I know he's wearing the old hat because he actually had it on during his visit, despite the July heat. Weird brother.


I took a dozen photos of the cap draped on Rocky, adjusting and
moving the cap around, he didn't even flinch. Whatta lump.


top o' the cap
Rocky's tail makes this look like part of the photo above it, cute

The pattern is found in the 2009 revised edition of Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia by Charlene Schurch. Several years ago I borrowed earlier editions of this book from the library and knit some great mittens but never got around to buying the book before the 2001 edition (titled Knitting Marvelous Mittens) went out of print and the price jumped. Then sad news was passed around: the book would never see a new printing, all the original plates were lost or destroyed, everything would have to be reknit, etc. I have no idea how much of that was true, but the book is available again so it doesn't matter. Martingale & Co might do a better job of keeping it in print, but I wasn't about to let this fine collection of patterns slip through my fingers again. KnitPicks helped out with their 40% off book sale too.

I haven't looked through the two earlier editions in a few years but I think the main difference is that a couple sock patterns were dropped and some hat patterns were added. The socks caused problems for some knitters, they couldn't pull the socks over their heels thanks to the tightly knit colorwork, so maybe complaints about that had something to do with the change.

The yarn is KnitPicks Palette (100% Peruvian fingering weight wool) knit at 10 sts/in and 11 rounds/inch on size 0 needles. Each round is 204 sts, which almost put me off the pattern but I decided to go for it and it still knit up fairly quickly so it's not a big deal. Colorwork always seems to go fast and hats are small projects.

KnitPicks Palette colors used (in order of appearance), less than 50g each:

Marine Heather
Tidepool Heather
Green Tea Heather
Cream
Mist
Silver

The subtle difference between cream and mist doesn't show up in these photos, the lighting washes out the light grey (mist), but there really are three colors used in the background of the main patt.

The Green Tea Heather looks different in the skein, I don't like how it looks so yellow in the hat, I expected something bright but greener. Oh well, I should've swatched all the colors together instead of placing the skeins in a pile.

This was my first time working with Palette and I'll definitely order more. It's very affordable ($1.99 for solids, $2.19 for heathers) and has a good selection of colors. The main thing I don't like about it is the same thing I don't like about most wool yarns: it makes my wrists itch. I'm envious of people who aren't sensitive to wool. I soaked the hat with Pantene hair conditioner and it seems pretty soft now, I might be able to wear it on my head.

Another problem with Palette is how the colors display on the KnitPicks website. Unfortunately Palette color cards are no longer available so you'll have to guess based on what you can see on your monitor. If you can afford to buy a few extra balls in the color range you're aiming for then you might be happy to have some options when your order arrives. Be prepared to place another order or arrange for an exchange if the blue that looks perfect on the website is completely wrong when you have it in your hands.

What's next? Mike needs felted slippers, how very exciting! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Lovebirds Earflap hat for mom's birthday

Last month I asked mom if she wanted a reindeer hat like the US athletes wore during the opening ceremonies in Vancouver. (The pattern can be found on Ravelry, and there's a long thread in the Patterns folder where people talk about their modifications.)



Cute hat. Our model is my favorite Olympian: Johnny Spillane of the US Nordic Combined team!


Mom declined the offer, but admitted she could use an earflap hat to keep her ears warm at football games. What does she have against reindeer? Anyway, I figured an earflap hat would make a good birthday present, and it was the perfect opportunity to play around with a chart I've been wanting to use.


Of course I accidentally took a photo of the BACK of the hat, oh well (you can see the jog, it goes right down the center of the heart, between the tails -- I didn't bother to hide it because it's something you have to look for in the busy pattern)




Cascade 220, size 6 needles

The hem and earflaps were taken from the Danish Earflap Hat in Charlene Schurch's "Hats On!" book. I altered the hem slightly by using a provisional cast-on, so when it came time to attach the hem to the body I simply released the stitches and knit those together with the body stitches -- instead of picking up 120+ stitches from a cable cast-on edge. This makes the hat comfy and stretchy around the head, it's awesome. I'll be using this hem again for sure.



Schurch's earflaps are perfect, I've never added earflaps to hats before because I wasn't happy with the way they looked but this double-thickness earflap, knit much like a simplified sock heel, is exactly the way I want an earflap to look and feel. I say simplified because there's no need to wrap stitches and fuss with holes, the gaps don't show on flat earflaps the same way they do with sock heels.

The love birds are a version of something I charted up a few years ago. This photo caught my eye in a German knitting book:



Sadly, the chart is not in the book, so I charted out what could be seen and guessed on the rest. In the above photo you can see a swatch I knit up at the time with fingering weight Shetland wool.

The pattern above the birds (the crown) had to be shortened and simplified so it'd fit on a hat, eventually I'd like to use my original chart for mittens with fingering weight yarn.

original chart (mitten) // new chart (hat)

I had to rip back when I realized the stylized leaves on the side looked like big ugly blotches of green when mirrored on the hat. The leaves were changed into hearts and it looks a lot better.

Next time (if I knit this hat again) I'll shift the start of the chart so the two birds face each other at the front of the hat. Right now the tails are the center focus and the over-all effect of the repeating birds and hearts is pleasing but it'd be that much better if the beaks instead of the tails were centered above the forehead. Why can't I figure these things out before I start?!

Ravelry saves the day!

What do you do when you're knitting a sleeve and realize you won't have enough yarn to finish the second sleeve and buttonband? You buy more yarn!





I only needed two more skeins, but I lucked out and found someone on Ravelry selling twelve skeins of Knitpicks Swish DK in the right dyelot (!!!), so I offered to buy it all to get my hands on those two skeins. Now I have enough yarn to make another sweater. I love this color (and will soon have two more children of siblings to knit for) so it wasn't a tough call. It also helped that the asking price was below retail and included shipping.

I'm not sure how I ended up 2 skeins short, but I suspect my row gauge is different. I also made the body and sleeves a little longer to fit target niece better, she has a long torso and arms that outgrow sleeves before the rest of her catches up.

Tip: List the dyelot of stash yarn you have up for sale, I wouldn't have bought this yarn if the dyelot # was missing from the description. Ravelry has a field for dyelot numbers and it is conveniently displayed when people are browsing stash yarn for sale, along with the photo and yarn name.

Sailing Away cardigan, in progress

knit in one piece to the armholes, this shows the back and the bottom halves of the two fronts.


I love the tubular cast-on, it looks OK in photos (even professional photos in books don't show it off properly), but in person it's amazing.


The cables will hopefully pop more after it's blocked but this is a limp soft wool, I'm not sure how it will behave.

Sailing Away Cardigan by E.J. Slayton
source: Knitting Digest, March 1994
size: child's 6
needle: size 4
yarn: Knitpicks Swish DK, 100% superwash wool in storm (I purchased 6 skeins, I'll confirm the number used when it's done).

Note about the color: Storm is a little darker but if I manipulate the photos too much to make the color more accurate then detail is lost. It's a beautiful true blue.

I started this cardigan last year and set it aside when I realized how big it would be, but now I'm in the mood to finish it. Katie Blue Eyes will eventually grow into it.

Sounders colors in yarn

To celebrate the Sounders 3-0 record (!!!) I'll post some yarns that closely match the team colors. First we need an example of the colors, and here we have Osvaldo Alonso, one of my favorite players.



the hardest working man in the MLS


I was surprised by the number of likely candidates I found with just a little poking around. No doubt there are a lot more yarns that would work for Sounders fan handknits, suggestions in the comments or via email are welcome.

I first checked out Dale Baby Ull, my #1 yarn, but I can't see a green in the current line that closely matches the rave green. I have some green and blue Dale Baby Ull that are good matches to the team colors, but I lost the labels and don't know the #s. After some googling I believe they are spring green #8523 and bright blue #5726. The spring green has been discontinued, but it's still available at some online shops. (While looking around online I saw another Dale Baby Ull blue also called bright blue, but it has a different # and is not the same as 5726. Be careful if you order online, go by the # and not the name.)



I tried to photograph bright blue #5726 on different days, in different lighting conditions, inside and outside, with flash and without flash, and it refuses to be photographed properly, so I've given up. I found the above image of #5726 on www.yarnsunlimitedpa.com and this is close to how it looks in real life, though I think it's a better match in person. (Note: I've never ordered from yarnsunlimitedpa.com and I have no affiliation with them, I found their shop while googling for Dale color cards.)

The Sandnes Lanett Superwash in lime #8913 is a touch lighter than the Dale Baby Ull #8523. It would also work in a handknit Sounders hat or scarf, though Baby Ull #8523 is a little more accurate. (I've used Lanett Superwash in the same pattern as Baby Ull, they're both fingering weight superwash wools made in Norway.) I hesitate to recommend a blue from this yarn line because the online color cards are so misleading. I looked at a few just to see how the green 8913 looks in some online shops, and they range from completely wrong to close but still wrong.

-----

There are two colors in Brown Sheep's Nature Spun line that look promising, but I took these images from their site's online color card, which means buyer beware.



Nature Spun - blue boy #116
Nature Spun - spring break #109

If I ever order yarn from a shop that stocks Nature Spun I'll get 2 skeins in these colors just to see if they look as good in person. This is a reliable wool available in a wide variety of colors as well as different weights, and it's inexpensive. It's not as soft as Dale Baby Ull, but it's not the scratchiest wool either. I was disappointed when the only local shop that carried it closed last year.

-----

For Knitpicks Palette I like the look of Edamame #24257 and Blue #23722. The digital color card on the Knitpicks website makes edamame look too dull/dark and the blue too bright, but they're a good match on the real color card, which uses snips of the yarn.


Knitpicks Palette: Edamame #24257 and Blue #23722

I looked through the Knitpicks catalog and noticed a lot of their yarns have a bright green and medium blue that would work in a Sounders handknit. I only own the Palette color cards though so I'm reluctant to guess on the other yarns; the Knitpicks online cards are notoriously misleading.

-----

If you've ever knit something to match school or team colors then you probably came to the same conclusion I did: it's a fun challenge to be as accurate as possible, but close is good enough. (I've also matched yarns for Oregon State, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, and Seattle Seahawks.) Think about it this way, if you go to a Sounders match with a green and blue hat, everyone around you will know it's a Sounders hat. If you look at the sea of fans you'll notice people wearing all shades of bright green and blue, it's not necessary to match the official uniform colors exactly. Just please make it a point to avoid Timbers green, that would be horrifying. *needles Timbers fans*

If you have any Sounders yarns to suggest please leave a comment!

3-0!

I love these guys! *weeps* I predict a ton of Kasey Keller and Fredy Montero shirts will be sold this week. Now I'm on the hunt for good yarn in Sounders FC colors, I'll post my findings later.

it most definitely is the beautiful game

Annemor #8 from Selbuvotter

I finished these gloves a month ago and decided to take photos yesterday afternoon after a fresh snow fall. I might try for better photos later.








pattern: Annemor #8 from Selbuvotter - http://www.selbuvotter.com
yarn: 50g Dale Baby Ull (black) and 50g Shepherd Baby Wool 4 Ply (white)
needles: US size 2 (2.75 mm)

I can't say enough good things about Dale Baby Ull, and Shepherd Baby Wool 4 Ply is a great match. I have extremely sensitive hands/wrists and can't stand to wear a lot of wools on my hands, but this wool is so comfortable and soft. If I could afford it I would knit just about everything in Dale Baby Ull. It's perfect for small projects. These gloves require two 50g skeins, one of each color, so around $12 total. Not bad. Cheaper yarn can be found elsewhere, but if I can't actually wear it then cheaper is hardly a good deal.

My older brother and his wife are expecting another daughter in July so I should knit something for my new niece. Right now I'm working on a mindless stockinette sock, which isn't my idea of fun. Time to drag out the books/magazines and look for cute baby sweaters.

Selbuvotter gloves in progress and chart chatter

Selbuvotter! How much do I love this book? It wasn't easy to choose the gloves I wanted to make first, almost every pattern in it appeals to me.







One more finger and then I get to do it all over again.

yarn: Dale Baby Ull (black) and Shepherd Baby Wool (white)
needles: US size 2 (2.75 mm)

This style of gloves would look pretty in a light delicate blue on white for a subtle softer look. I decided to use the traditional black and white first but I'll probably explore more colors on the next pair.

For more information about this book visit its website: http://www.selbuvotter.com
It's a good idea to buy the 2nd edition, but errata can be found on the website for the 1st printing.

And now some words about charts

When I start a new pattern the first thing I do is turn on the scanner, for a few practical reasons. I don't want to mark up the original pattern, and if I misplace the copy the original is still here. Any section of the chart can be enlarged, or broken up into manageable pieces, before it's printed. A print-out and a magnet board can be slipped inside a sheet protector (see below), which I can't do if the original chart is printed in a book.



On the right is a scan of the original page, those three small charts were enlarged so they'd be easier to see without specs on. Scan charts in greyscale (instead of black and white) so they look better printed out.

I also turned the hand chart into two charts: one for the left glove and one for the right. Doing this allowed me to enlarge the hand charts so they filled up the entire page and they're easier to follow as well.

The magnet board can be purchased at most craft stores in the embroidery section, give it a try if post-it notes don't work for you. My board came with the magnets shown, including the handy ruler magnet.

Read how much Elann rocks and see some Classic Elite classics

I'm so impressed with Elann, I mailed a payment on Monday and received my order today -- Friday. Now that's service!

In comparison, I mailed a payment to Knitpicks on the same day (both payments were sent to addresses in the same state), but their website doesn't show acknowledgment of my order yet. I sent an email to Knitpicks yesterday about something in my order now showing as out of stock, asking if it will hold up my entire order. Knitpicks customer service sent a reply saying they'd be in touch in a few days because they're so busy.

Hmm... Elann wins this round hands down. ;)

My Elann order included these two '98 pattern leaflets from Classic Elite:


Classic Elite Leaflet 803 - It is Now Winter in the Andes


Classic Elite Leaflet 805 - The Dance of the Alpacas

The leaflets, which include charts, were only $1.58 each. They've been sitting in my Elann shopping cart for around three years, I remember googling for them online after I saw an ad in an old knitting magazine. I was surprised when I recently logged in to order sock yarn and saw the patterns still in the cart.

This is the first time I've ordered Elann's sock yarn, which seems like a great deal. It's $2.30 per 50g skein, and the colors I received are lovely (teal, oasis, mineral blue, black, and cream). The colors in person look a little darker than they appear on my monitor, which is fine with me. It feels nice in the skein and if I like the way it knits up then I'll be happy to order more.