F is for feet

Where have I been? The past two weeks have been unbelievably frantic.

*Car repair estimates: check.

*Kitty cat feeling better: check.

*Attend Sen. Barack Obama rally for Sen. Maria Cantwell: check.

*Baby's first goth show: check. (Sisters of Mercy came to town... sadly, their show was very poorly engineered so they sounded awful and the smoke machine was working so well that you could only see the performers' sunglasses... but on a brighter note, Rob Dickinson, lead singer of The Catherine Wheel, opened with a solo set and was brilliant.)

*Prenatal yoga classes: check.

*Childbirth classes: check.

*Pass the gestational diabetes screening: check.

*Belly finally grown bigger than bust: check. check.

*Home office deconstructed to make room for nursery: check. I've been relegated to a corner in the dungeon basement rec room, which is working out pretty well. Lennon (in the picture to the right) welcomes me to his lair. His favorite spot is on top of the hot water heater.

*Bureaucratic meetings, workshops and conferences: check.

*Report cards: almost done.

*Knitting: check.

Ruffle Rib Socks
Interweave Knits, Summer 2005
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Georgetown colorway, leftover from my own Conwys.
Addi Turbos size 0 (2mm)

These were fun to knit. At another time in my life, they would have taken so little time, but they were the perfect project to bring along to a meeting or to knit along with the little bit of TV I've had time for these days. A row here, a heel there, and they're finally done!

I've been wanting to try short row heels and this pattern felt like a sampler: short row toes and short row heels, plus a decorative zig-zag bind off that I hadn't tried before. I'm really happy with the results; I hope the future wearer of them feels the same way.

My Conwys (color is more true on the first two pictures than here) were knitted on Addi Turbos size 1 and I really, really like the denser fabric of these socks done on size 0. Lesson learned: check!

Sweetness

Dear Erika Knight,

Are you insane? Or are you a genius?

The first "Dainty Baby Bootee" I made, of the pair, propelled me to use not so dainty language. Cut yarn here, pick up stitches there. Create a free-form sculpture that somewhat resembles an octopus. WTF??



But the second one went along much, much more smoothly. I started seeing the logic behind the insanity, and the final result made me think that perhaps you knew what you were talking about after all.



Fortunately, the "Lacy Bonnet", which I made before the "loony bootees", made complete sense from stitch one and was a joy to knit. The rosette shape at the crown is absolutely gorgeous. The lacy pattern that makes up the rest of the bonnet has a wonderful repetitive flow; I started wondering if the lace were something like Orangina's. The only problem was the ribbon. The example in the book has one attach a head-sized ribbon rosette on each side, which is very beautiful to photograph, but very unrealistic for most of the babies I know. Also, it was tough to find a ribbon color that I liked with this dusty pink yarn, so I went with the antique white to pick up the pearly buttons (stitched on so firmly that no baby will ever be able to pull off) on the bootees.



Thank you for your designs, Ms. Knight. I'm sorry I thought you were crazy.

Sincerely,
Karma

P.S. The gifties were a big hit at the baby shower today. Everyone thought I was a genius.

P.P.S. Lacy Bonnet and Dainty Bootees,
Knitting For Two by Erika Knight
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, pink, 1 skein for all
#4 bamboo straights (that's another agonizing story in itself, what the heck am I doing with bamboo straights anymore for goodness sake, pass the addis!!!)

More Book Reviews and a New Project

Oh how I love my library system! I checked out two more sock books this weekend:

Socks Socks Socks: 70 Winning Patterns From the Knitter's Magazine Contest

Hmm. All the winners are very talented, but who is really wearing all of these crazy socks?? Did you see all the cutesy intarsia sockies with little piggie toes or the striped rainbow socks with 24 colors? Woah. There were a couple that I would consider making, but nothing that I couldn't find somewhere else (like Knitting on the Road! I think I'm falling in love with that book!)

50 Baby Bootees to Knit, by Zoe Mellor

Cuteness! Cuteness! I've heard criticism that there really aren't 50 patterns, just several variations on a theme. But dang, the variations are sweet. I don't like paying $25 for this book, but on the other hand, it would be really handy to have around for baby shower inspiration. Must keep an eye out at Overstock.com.

Another good thing about this book is the package... it's hardback with a spiral binding. I love that.

I'm going to make a pair of the teddy bear booties from this book for my dear friend Stasie's boy, Dylan, who was just born Friday. Here's the yarn I ordered for Dylan's teddy bear booties; I tried a new online yarn shop called Fuzzy Mabel and my package arrived super quickly, contents packed with a cute purple ribbon and then wrapped in purple tissue paper. This is an 8-ply washable wool. Of course the colors aren't accurate; use your imagination!

Lovely Little Earthworms!

The sun finally shone here in Seattle, it's been a lovely afternoon, so Mr. Goodkarma and I spent a few hours or so pulling weeds and digging in the dirt. I've kind of been dreading it, because we have loads of weeds, but it was actually nice and meditative. I met several nice, fat earthworms and got some exercise.

But here comes the good part:

Oh lovely Avobath. Ahhhh... my husband destroyed my gardening gloves, so my hands are disgusting. I bought two new pair today in women's size SMALL, so he wouldn't be able to use them even if he wanted to. So Avobath, here I come. I'm going to go soak in the tub for a looooong time and scrub my hands back into shape at the same time. I think I'll do a Mask of Magnaminty as well. Can't wait!

A couple of people have asked how much Koigu I used for the Berry Baby Booties. I used about half a skein per pair. I'm confident that I would be able to two pair from a skein, using that pattern.

I Heart Kitchener Stitch!

Yeah! I actually finished something! I've been admitting to myself that I have a teensy problem with starting projects and not totally finishing them. Unless it's a small giftie that has a deadline, then I'm your girl. We're having a double baby shower this week for two of my coworkers. I made these booties for them, inspired by Fig and Plum's Sheik Yerbouti post. Clearly, I used a different pattern, but the idea came from her. Mine have a garter stitch sole. The pattern I used also calls for a garter stitch cuff at the top, but I opted for stockinette stitch so they would roll. Thanks for the inspiration, Jessica!

Sydney's Blackberry Booties and Gracen's Blueberry Booties
Pattern: Free Circular Seamless Baby Bootees
Yarn: Koigu P#408 (Blackberry), P#124 (Blueberry); 100% merino
Needles: #2 Brittany Birch DPN
What did I learn? This was my first use of kitchener stitch, the miracle stitch! Yay! I also learned that Koigu PPPM is dangerously gorgeous and fun to knit with. This will certainly not be my last dance with Koigu.


Another view of the Koigu for these projects.

Postman Delivers Summer 2005 IK

How did the next IK come out so soon? Didn't we just get the spring one? Can you tell I'm a little manic about all the projects I've started and all the projects I'm dreaming about? haha!

Fortunately, sadly, howeverly, there really aren't any patterns I *must* knit. There are some cute cami tops but they're not bra friendly, so they're also not goodkarma friendly. And what's with ALL THE SHRUGS lately? Go see Girl From Auntie for a good explanation of why shrugs are not flattering for many women.

I promise to have some good product to show you v. soon. I finished Sydney's booties and am halfway done with Gracen's.

So I take it back. There were a few things I like in IW Summer 2005: all the cute baby gifties, since you know I'm in the Baby Vortex right now, and the Go With the Flow Socks. I have big feet, though, so size 7-8 prolly wouldn't fit and I don't know if I want to deal with re-engineering socks. Will keep them in mind, though, for smaller footed friends.

Ciao, dahlings.

Happy Knitterversary to Me!

Yay me! One year ago today, I bought my first skeins of Lamb's Pride to make my first (very tightly knit) garter stitch scarf. The year has gone by so quickly! And in that time, of course I've become completely obsessed. And I usually knit to gauge. I remember how stinking tight I knit at the beginning... that first scarf is stiff! haha

I spent the day in a knitterly way so far. I let myself be hypnotized by my loverly Mac as I surfed knitting blogs and the Knittyboard. Then, my SNB met today at a local coffee shop. I'd love to say that I got a lot done on Lucky, but mostly I chatted with my knitty friends about projects and travel. Which was nice and relaxing. Besides, I have all week (didn't I tell you? I'm on Spring Break!) to wrap up some of my nearly done projects. After SNB, I went to Seattle Yarn Gallery (the scene of the crime one year ago!) (they still don't have the new Rebecca! WTF? Other peeps out there are already finished with projects from Rebecca #29! Grrr...) and bought a couple of skeins of Koigu KPPPM to make baby booties for the shower coming up. I'm trying to decide if I want to get another set of addi turbos and do the socks on two circs thing.

Blueberry for little Mr. Gracen, Blackberry for little Miss Sydney

Last night, Mr. Goodkarma and I watched Vera Drake. Vera's daughter knits in one scene (or at least holds a ball of yarn and some needles...). If you haven't seen it yet, you really should. I just read that none of the actors, except the woman playing Vera, knew that the film was about abortion until their characters did. That's such an interesting (and successful, in my opinion) strategy for the actors and director. It became so engrossing toward the end that I just let Mariah fall into my lap and I was 100% into the storyline. Speaking of which, I only have about 6-8 rows left to do on Mariah's yoke and then I'll try it on, see how it looks, and decide what to do from there. Lots of Mariah knitalongers are having issues with the yoke/neckline/hood and I need to decide if I want a hood or a ribbed collar.

Welp, I think I'll wrap up my Knitterversary by winding my Koigu into balls (heh heh, she said, "balls") and picking up where I left off on Mariah.

Have a good week, everyone!