Slipped Stitches

I finally finished the blanket...



I have some wool leftover so I might make some matching socks, possibly from this website. If anyone is looking for some good free baby patterns, I do like Knitting Pattern Central. That's where I got the pattern for those little cotton booties. Anyways, I'm blocking the blanket now, and it smells like sheep in my house. Yum...I guess it's a better smell than baby puke...

Well the wool has arrived and it is Bee-u-ti-ful!! Thanks again for your help picking it ladies! It is also super soft - should pass the Mike test



Here's the wool I purchased on our recent trip



I'm not sure which I'm going to start first - probably mine only to iron out the wrinkles before tackling Mike's. I will also get a feel for whether this book I've bought (Yarn Girl's Guide to Simple Knits) is going to turn out good looking sweaters or not.

God help me - I'm in the final throws of the vest - I'm going to count rows (front vs. back) tonight, and finish up before embarking on the three-needle bind off! I may just wear this vest in 2005 after all!

So, I haven't actually written about my hurdles regarding this blanket. I had to get twice the yarn I originally had planned for because even though the yarn is DK, it is shorter than what the pattern needs. Luckily I was able to order from Knitter's Bazaar in Barrie, where I got the original stuff so I was able to get the correct dye lots. It ended up costing way more than I had hoped, but way less than if I would have used the koigu...or maybe not, since the yardage is different. It's a pretty cozy blanket though. Also, I thought I should clarify, I'm not done yet - this is how bad I am, I put unfinished projects on Sal. I can't even wait until it's done.
Here's my progress:

I can't help it...I have to put all of my knit projects on Sal...he doesn't seem to mind though. I think he likes natural fibers. Anyways, here's Sal with the blanket:

The Barrie trip was a success - I was able to find some wool for Coco's blanket. I was unable to find any koigu wool, but I decided on a beige tweedy wool combined with a soft pink...


I was even able to get a start on it, which is a good thing. I hope I can get it done in time for the shower, what with working and other interests. Here's how it looks so far...

The Coco blanket is a go! I am hoping that I'll find some good stuff in Barrie on our shopping extravaganza...if not, I'll be seriously up the creek. I didn't realize that the shower for which I'm making this blanket is 4 weeks away...better get knitting!

Last night I finished a hat for Coco that will match her wee booties.



Do non-knitters really appreciate knit gifts? I do remember as a kid loving the knit stuff that my aunts used to make me, but I wonder, nowadays, do people still care? I have my doubts, especially when for some people babies are almost like an accessory that they can dress up in their fancy designer baby wear. If only I could knit a Gucci logo on the stuff that I make. I guess I'm just hoping that the slight imperfections seen in a hand-knit gift are easy to overlook.

So...depending on the needs and wants of Coco's parents, I may or may not make a final gift...the "big bad baby blanket" from SnB. However, it calls for 8 (!!!) skeins of Koigu Painters Palette Premium Merino yarn. Where can I get some for a reasonable price, and are there any substitutes that would work? Anyone?

I hate the stupid "go-everywhere, go-with-everything cardigan" from S n B. I guess that my gauge is too teeny, even though my wool and needles are the right ones. Stupid thing. I'm feeling somewhat lazy, so I'm going to post the exact panicked email I just sent to Miss G...

The back panel of the cardigan is supposed to be 23 inches wide, and 23 inches long...I was counting stitches in the pattern, but it seems that my guage or yarn or whatever is a bit smaller, so I was needing more stitches to get to where I had to go. As a result, I've been using measurements.

Anyways, I've noticed that instead of the required 23 inches, the sweater is only 22 inches wide. Is one inch off going to make much of a difference? As far as the fit of the body of the sweater, I think it will be more than wide enough. My question is...
a) is this difference a problem?
b) will I be running into problems when I make the sleeves? Should I cast on 5 extra stitches for the width of the sleeves, especially considering the fact that my arms are pretty big? The shaping for the sleeves is pretty much based on measurements rather than number of stitches, except for the decreases...those were counted. The stupid shapings were supposed to be 3.5 inches from the edge for the extra large sweater, and they are only 3 inches. yikes.

I guess to summarize, the width is small because I didn't measure, I counted. The length is long because I measured. The width differences are about 1/2 to 1 inch.

What the hell should I do? I think I need a cardigan intervention. I'm only making small things that knit up fast...I've invested way too much time into this stupid sweater for it to not work.

I need a back to school sweater! I have no freaking cardigans!!



....update....

I just spoke with Miss G and it looks like cardi is a go. Full steam ahead! Thanks Sensei G!

I've just finished a pair of booties for Coco but I had a hard time getting the sizing right because the pattern is for double knit, and I could only find worsted that I actually liked. I had to modify the pattern from here. I had better bite the bullet and get the Debbie Bliss baby knits book, but I thought I heard not so great reviews of it...Anna, is this true?


I think that I may just pick up some ribbon and thread it through the cuffs so they're not so floppy. Or maybe I won't give them away. I really wish that these were for a knitter mom, because non-knitters don't always appreciate the hand knit gifts, especially if they're not perfect.