Thursday Knit-In

With four knitters in attendance, Kniterati met up last night. It was great: we had veggies and various dips, a late arrival of garden-fresh strawberries, and wine. And let us not forget knitting.

I'm working on balling up my yarn to start work on Clapotis. After doing one, I gave up and started working on my Lace Ribbon Scarf, which is a fun lace project for anyone interested in learning to read lace patterns. Depending on the length, it'll either be mine or become a Christmas gift for one of the many women in my circle. It's pretty fun.

Rory (the cat) decided to plop in the middle of our group and harass Kathy. She kept attacking her scarf and generally harassing everyone. I guess kitties like knitting too, hehe.

I don't know when the next meeting will be...but likely soon! It's become a really relaxing knitting time, since I live alone now, and also don't stress out about everyone coming over. I look forward to continuing to host it.

The Promised Baby Hat

(Warning--several Ravelry links follow). Using a pattern that I know Secret Knitter is fond of, I knit a little baby hat for my friend (the same one the bootees are for). It's soft and warm, and hopefully will fit the little guy's head.

I knit this up in one day (wow!) as I was recovering from the swift-but-vicious bug that I caught last week. The color choice is a little odd, but I was also using up leftover bits of yarn, something that baby projects are perfect for, I've discovered. And baby projects are perfect for almost-instant gratification--start it today, finish it tonight!

I altered the pattern a teensy bit, removing the garter stitch ridges on the main hat body, and adding more decreases before binding off. I also (like Secret Knitter) used the magic loop method and knit it on the round instead of flat (I hate seams anyway, and it looks nicer without them). I'm pretty happy with it, so hopefully the new mom and baby will be too!

Cable Issues?

For those of you who have ventured into Cable Land (which is super fun, if you haven't), you'll quickly discover the problem of what to do with that dratted cable needle when you're not using it. Behold, a solution.

Pretty cute, right? And so useful. I sometimes just stick the needle into my project, but sometimes that backfires. And a lot of times, I'm wandering around wondering where my cable needle went.

This is of course if you haven't mastered the trick of knitting cables without a needle. Some of us (including the creator of this handy holder) are a bit scared to just leave those stitches floating out there without something to keep them from falling out, okay?

(Being sick has thrown off my sleep schedule a bit. I'm starting to feel better, but now I'm awake and restless since I've been trapped in my house since the flu-bug thing attacked me Wednesday evening. Incidentally, I used that energy to finish the baby bootees you saw earlier, and a baby hat that you'll see once I take some pictures. Thank goodness I think I'm well enough to escape for a short time tomorrow... But damn I've finished up some knitting--perhaps I'll finally finish Isabella this weekend.)

Baby Bootees

ADAllen made these (Ravelry link) and I wanted to make them too. Then one of my best friends found out she was pregnant, and as soon as she told me that she was having a boy and that her colors were green, I made these:



I love them. I think they're adorable. I want to knit like 80 pairs because they are quick and adorable and fun. Excellent!

Knitting Controversies

Knitters and the BBC face off:

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080509/1244161074.shtml

It's an interesting comment on the BBC's decision to go after fans who have created knitting patterns of Doctor Who characters. Who knew that knitting could create such a controversy?

Loopy Fetchings

I taught myself the Magic Loop knitting method this week, using Fetching as a excuse to try it out. I have to say I love it. I'm extremely fond of using dpns, but there is something, well, magical about using this technique. Plus, I have awesome new needles from Knit Picks that are apparently perfect for Magic Loop.

I discovered that I needed to knit them smaller, so I'm using size 4 needles. I also might try some shaping around the wrist on the second one, since they are quick to knit, and I can experiment with the second one. I don't really like them to be too loose. See my Ravelry page for more info on them.

KB is supposed to be on Ravelry soon, incidentally, so I can't wait!