380

The number of lovely, gorgeous nupps on my latest FO:









Pattern: Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark [Raveled]
Yarn, etc.: Dream in Color Baby, colorway "Blue Lagoon"; Knit Picks circular needles (size 5US)
Mods: None

I am utterly, hopelessly in love with this shawl. Does it show? ;)

Hooray for tubes.

Tubes seem to be just about the only thing that I am able to finish these days. Observe:



Pattern: Plain vanilla socks in a 4x2 rib pattern
Yarn, etc.: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Silk Color, colorway 0188; Knit Picks double pointed needles (size 1US)





Pattern: Wicked (Worsted Weight Version) by Sarah & Rachel from Zephyr Style
Yarn, etc.: Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers, colorway "Irelande"; Knit Picks circular needles (size 7US)
Mods: No pocket; short sleeves; cast on 4 extra sts under arms and picked up 8 extra sts to enlarge sleeves; knit 2x2 ribbing for waistband instead of seed stitch; used paired increases and decreases for waist shaping

According to my Ravelry project page, I started this sweater in October 2007. Why it took me so long to knit such a simple sweater, I do not know, but I am very glad to have finished it. By the time I hit the waist, I was so over it. I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that I now only really want to knit with Dream in Color yarns because I love them so much.

Therefore, I have decided to give in to the siren song of the February Lady Sweater, which I will, of course, knit in Classy. SJ, who knitted a gorgeous version of the FLS last summer, was kind enough to let me try hers on for size recently, and I hope to buy the yarn and start my own this week. Here's hoping that I'll be able to make some fast progress on it, even though it's not a tube.

As for Loppem? On the way to the frog pond, I'm afraid.

Cutest. Hat. Ever.

Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro
Yarn, etc.: Koigu KPPPM, colorway P201; Knit Picks circular needles (size 0US and 1US), and Knit Picks double pointed needles (size 1US)
Mods: Added a couple of extra garter rows in beginning and completed 13 increase/decrease rows instead of the 9 rows the pattern called for; picked up 5 stitches on each side and knitted 10 inches of i-cord for ties

Although I knitted a baby cap for each of the twins already, I've found that they don't really stay on their heads - particularly on Leia's head since she's a squirmer. I intended to pick up stitches on their hats and knit earflaps/chin straps to keep them on, and searched Ravelry for ideas on how to do that. During my search, I came across the Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro on Ravelry, and just had to make it. This will definitely be one of my go-to patterns for baby gift knitting in the future. It was quick to knit, took less than one skein of Koigu and ohmygosh, have you seen how cute it is? Best of all, I think it is baby-approved:

Crazy? Me? Yes, thanks.

As soon as I saw Norah Gaughan's Loppem, I had to have it. The bummer is that the pattern has a lot of errata, and definitely requires more concentration than I think I can actually muster at present, thanks to the twins. Also, some days, I don't even have the time to bathe. So, what's a girl to do?



I'm not sure what I am thinking, especially since I have many simple projects already on the needles that I haven't touched in months. It's taken me about two days to knit those 15 or so rows that you see there, sneaking in some knitting time between feedings, baths, diaper changes, screaming, etc. I want to wear this thing now, but I'll be lucky if I get it finished before next summer at the rate I'm going. Happily, the husband has agreed to stay at home with the twins tomorrow night so I can spend some quality time with Loppem and the Hurricane Knitters. Hurrah!

Wrapped in knitted love.

These two wonderful blankets arrived by mail last week, courtesy of the wonderful Hurricane Knitters! From all of us, thank you Amy, Dana, Jenn, Melissa, Sarah and Yvonne. The blankets are beautiful and you guys are the best!

Finished knits, now with finished babies!

We were overjoyed to welcome our twins, "Luke" and "Leia" (names changed to protect the innocent) on Saturday, October 11, 2008. Leia is the older of the two by one minute and weighed in at an impressive 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Her little brother weighed in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces. Things are crazy around our house as we adjust to being new parents, but the twins are absolutely delightful and we are enjoying every minute (except maybe the sleep deprivation). Blogging and blog reading will be a little spotty for a while, as will knitting unfortunately, but I think it's all worth it. :)

A couple of hats, and a scarf problem.

So, the babies have decided to stay in and bake a little longer, much to my discomfort. Not wanting to start anything new or difficult, I turned to an old favorite - the one-skein hat pattern from Simply Noro:





Pattern: Hareton by Jane Ellison [Ravelry link]
Yarn, etc.: Noro Kureyon, colorway 134 (top photo) / Noro Silk Garden, colorway 201 (bottom photo); Addi Turbo needles, size US 8 / 5.0 mm
Mods: Cast on an additional four stitches for the Silk Garden hat, knit to seven inches instead of six and a half before starting crown shaping; no mods on Kureyon hat

I think that this must be at least the tenth or eleventh time that I've knit this pattern, and I always find it to be quick and satisfying knit. Also, for whatever reason, just watching the colors change as I knit with Noro never fails to amuse me.

After I finished the hats, I dug out an old UFO:



That's My So Called Scarf, in a particularly gorgeous colorway of Manos. After I took this photo, I ripped it. I just was not happy with how sloppy the edges were looking, so I restarted it, increasing the stitch count and slipping the first stitch of every row. Unfortunately, it still looks sloppy, with big, loose loops on the edges. I love this yarn, but the pattern is driving me crazy. Anyone out there have any ideas on how to neaten up the edges?