I once had a day that lasted all week...

So very tired.
The day began a bit oddly because I was stuck in an elevator without cell reception for an hour with a man who was wearing a bike helmet and a gas mask... and clothes. I will at least give him the benefit of the doubt since he choose to wear clothing on our little "adventure".

The experience wasn't too traumatic. I was frustrated by the lack of access to the non-suspended in a box world, but remained calm due to heavy amounts of knitting (Schaefer's Susan -we love's it) and the comforting fact that my gas-masked and helmeted new boy-friend was wearing clothing and didn't seem to have a penchant for cabbage or lentils.

While he didn't talk much, or stare, or flirt lasciviously, or drool, he was still a bit much to take in without caffeine. Lookie.... or maybe not. I'll see if I can add a pic when I have more than one brain cell firing.


Anyway, I Kinneared him. I forgot to take off the "ka-chinka" noise the camera-phone makes and made the hasty decision to lie still like I was some dead woodland creature if the noise alerted him to my activities. I hear it works for bears.

Tomorrow, or rather later on today I'll tell you all about the fun we had at the Harlot's Book signing and the fools we made of ourselves there.

Gratis Knits: Spring 2008

Baby Court Jester

Size:
Baby-Toddler

Measurements:
15 – 17” head circumference

Materials:

• 1 skein of DK weight yarn (or light worsted)
• 4mm/US size 6 circular needle and dpns, 12” long (or one 32” long circular needle for Magic Loop method) or size needed to obtain gauge
• Tapestry needle
• Stitch markers
• Pom-pom maker (optional)

Gauge:
24 sts & 28 rows = 4” in St st.

Notes:
I used about 38g of handspun that Fyberduck created for the hat. While we determined it was a light worsted weight yarn, because it was a thick and thin ply, the fabric was a bit too lacy when knit at lower gauges. If you choose to use a commercial yarn for this pattern you will want a fabric that is sturdy but not stiff. The gauge is the most important factor. There is a list of possible substitutions at the bottom of this post but you might find other plump sport-weights or some light worsted-weight yarns work just as well. When in doubt go with a heavier yarn because it will fit a baby at some point in their life.

Abbreviations:

* repeat instructions following the single asterisk as directed
alt alternate
dpn double-point needle
K knit
kfb knit front and back (increase one st)
k2tog knit two stitches together
P purl
pm place marker
rnd(s) round(s)
skp slip, knit, pass stitch over—one stitch decreased
st(s) stitch(es)

I-cord Cast On (á la Ruth Sørenson)

Cast on 5 sts on DPNs or circular needle and k 5 sts. At the end of the row, slide the sts to the other end of the needle and pulling the yarn around the back, k the sts again. You’ve completed one row of Icord.

Continue in this manner, pulling down on the cord occasionally as you go, until the cord is approximately 20” long. Break yarn and thread through the last row of sts, cinching them up tight.

(Now here is the cool part… You may have noticed on one side of the I-cord a slight gap. Some call this gaping a “ladder”. It looks like disaster in a sock, but in this case it is your best friend.)

With your needle pick up K 90 sts creating 1 st in each of the rungs from the ladder starting about 2½ inches from one end of the I-cord. If your sts are off-center when you fold the I-cord in half), do not worry because you can always pull off or add the first few sts at the beginning. Just make sure to end with 90 sts total.

Hat Body (working flat)

Row 1: *kfb, K 19 sts, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 19sts, kfb *. Repeat between the * to the end of the row.

Row 2: P across.

Repeat Rows 1 – 2 once more.

Hat Body (in the round)

Rnd 1: *kfb, K 19 sts, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 19sts, kfb *. Repeat between the * to the end of the row.

Rnd 2: pm to mark start of the rnd and join stitches in the round (being sure not to twist the stitches). K row.

Alt row 1 with a K row until you loose the will to live which, coincidentally, measures about 5” from the I-cord edge.

Dividing the hat into points…

Set up rnd:

K 45, place remaining 45 sts on waste yarn or a stitch holder

Left point:

Fold hat in half with adjustable ties in back, PM, and K the first stitch in the row joining it in the round.

K 3 rnds.

Decrease row: K2tog, K 17 sts, skp, K 1, K2tog, K 18sts, skp, k1. [41 sts remaining]

Continue in this manner by decreasing 4 sts every 4^th rnd, until there are only 5 sts left.

Break yarn and thread through the remaining 5 sts cinching them tight to secure.

Right point:

Return remaining sts to needle(s), PM to mark beginning of rnd, K 4 rows.

Decrease row: K 9 sts, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 17, skp, k1, k2tog K 9. [41 sts remaining]

K three rows

Continue in this manner, decreasing 4 sts every 4^th rnd, until there are only 5 sts left.

Break yarn and thread through the remaining 5 sts cinching them tight to secure.

Finishing:

Weave in ends. Add pompoms to the ends of your hat points or tassels. Decorative buttons are cute too. Go wild; the hat isn’t meant to be serious and the only time one can wear such ridiculousness if they aren’t in the theatre, is under the age of 3 and over the age of 83.

Substitutions:

If you aren't a spinner or can't get your hands on some handspun in an appropriate weight, I suggest giving the following brands a try:

For lots of color Scotia Silk, Great Big Sea, or Blue Faced Leicester DK are nice. Koigu Kersti is a fab choice as well. If you want transitional color, try Migrations, Mitsuri, or Silk Garden. You could try a plain hat too or one with stripes out of Balance or Sublime Yarns Extrafine Merino Wool too.

All for the Love of You

"Excuse me miss, would you mind modeling this hat for me?"

"Me?"

"Yes. I think you might just be the right size and I need a snapshot or two for our store blog."

"Well okay, so long as my mommy is okay with it. She has legitimate concerns about the modeling industry, with the drug scandals and body image controversies."

"Oh of course. I mean I can only respect her for just taking the time to think about these things and the impact her decision could place on your life. Please, just take your time."

------------

"Well she said it would be alright. How do you want me? Is sitting here in my stroller okay for you?"

"That would be lovely."

Snap!





"Wow! That was a great pose... uh, sorry didn't catch your name."
"My name is Daisy."
"Like in the song?"
"Yup."
"Well great shot Daisy."
"Oh that was nothin'. Should I show you my 'nonchalant-mid-conversation pose circa 1968'?"
"Uh, sure. Sounds grand."

Snap!


"Holy macaroni! Who knew the photo could get better? Show me another one!"
"Sure thing!"

Snap!



"I call that one 'action shot'. I like to mix it up a bit and try to capture every aspect of the mood and tone of the designer's handiwork."
"Well that's just stellar. I never realized I'd be dealing with such a professional when I asked for your help. I feel honored to be in your presence because I've learned so much from this experience."
"Your welcome!"
"How about one more shot for the blog readers? I'm going to post a free pattern for them tomorrow and I'd like to get just one more shot. That is, if you feel like you have one more in you."
"Why don't I give you 80% of a full-throttle, no-holds-barred sparkler of a smile with just a hint of patty cake action? I'd pull out all the stops and give you more but the imagery is usually too powerful for the average person. The pictures usually causes peoples teeth to ache with cavities, they are so sweet."
"No, by all means do what you have to do."

Snap!


Ladies and gentlemen I present to you Daisy; a girl sure to break the hearts of many.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the free pattern to the Baby Court Jester hat. I only hope I'm recovered enough to post it. My ovaries ache.

Welcome to the casbah, baby

... we interrupt your normal blogging for an important YarNews Flash:

A giant box of Fleece Artist Casbah sock yarn has landed!

(wow, that sounds like CIA code, doesn't it?)

Casbah, one of our fastest selling sock yarns, is back in stock. And, to reward us for our custom, Handmaiden & Fleece Artist have included 10 free copies of their sock pattern "Little Square Socks", designed specifically for Casbah yarn. Sooo... the first 10 knitters in to buy a skein of Casbah will get a free pattern with their purchase :)

True Plies: Spinning out of control

True Plies: Fleece Artist Blue-faced Leicester Roving

I have to admit it. I have a problem. A big one. And working at this store ain't helping me with it.The culprit this week?

Handmaiden & Fleece Artist of Nova Scotia. In the past month we have received so much merchandise from them, we've had to create a section of the store I'm calling Little Canada.

(shown to the left)

To make matters worse, a couple weeks ago we received an enormous box of hand-painted roving. Seriously, when I say "enormous", I mean it. I could have shipped myself (and a friend) to Jamaica in that thing (actually...hmm, not a bad thought).

I managed to avoid the wicked, wicked beguiling ways of the roving until The Blogger set up a spinning display with a basket of it, and ... well, I fell off of the wagon. Two nights ago I brought home 100g of their BFL roving in the colorway "Peacock". The bronze and turquoise together called to me. So I pulled out my wheel, spun up some very fine singles, and then Navajo-plied the singles into a 3-ply/ worsted weight yarn:

My review of it? Oh, it's beautiful. Not just to ogle and pet, but to spin as well. I have to admit that I have had some pretty traumatic experiences with hand-dyed wool roving. Inexperienced dyers can accidentally felt the roving by using water that's too hot or agitating the wool as it's soaking up the dyes - which turns perfectly beautiful wool roving into rope.

Not this stuff. It was still soft and fluffy and didn't resemble hand-dyed rope at all. The roving easy pulled apart in slivers and was even easier to draft. So easy, in fact, that I managed to shock myself with how fine the single-ply yarn was. Navajo-plying it made the yarn heavier and self-striping. If I had 2-plied the yarn, it would have been a fingering weight yarn in the end. And the colors would have misched more.

All in all, I'm exceedingly pleased with it. And $16.50 for 100g of hand-painted, handspun, yarn ain't bad. Not by a long shot. Now all I have to do is knit it, once I manage to beat my coworkers away from the skein with a stick or something...

(Next time? Fleece Artist's Casbah.)