Tangelo in Blue

This may look like a boring ole blue cardi, but it's way more. Yummy yarn, interesting ribbing details and super easy one piece construction. Woohoo, another winner!

Pattern: Tangelo from Fall 2006 Knit Scene (size small)

Yarn: Reynolds Rapture color 569
Mods: No flowers, sorry.
Knit Flicks: The Departed, VCU basketball

Notes: The only reason I knit this sweater was because I bought yarn at a super reduced price a couple weeks ago without a pattern in mind. Tangelo caught my eye in the midst of the CPH project. I'm really glad I gave it a try. I like the way the ribbing on the sides and lower edge add some shaping. Plus, the silk/wool blend will work well this spring.

Swimming in Stockinette

So months ago I decided to knit a felted vest to match the Anemoi Hat and Mittens (btw, how 'bout that Eunny Jang? Huzzah!). I thought, "I'll knit the mittens first to get a feel for the pattern. Then the hat since coming up with the pattern will be the hardest part of it all. Then I'll just need a few weeks for the vest -- I mean, c'mon, it's a sweater without sleeves! Easy schmeasy."

Back up to the first sentence in this post. Do you see the word "felted" next to the word "vest?" Yup. It's there. But unfortunately, it did not really lodge in my brain. You have to knit a HUGE vest to get it to felt to a medium size. That's a lot of stockinette stitch. Right now I'm past the armhole divide and working on the back (the sides are done) and this beast is the biggest honkin' thing I have ever knit. It stretches from one side of my Queen bed to the other and is at least 2 1/2 feet in length.

And now it's warmed up. So I'm knitting on the patio, with 80 degree weather, with a heavy pile of wool on my lap. Ugh. I am planning to felt it on Saturday. I cannot wait.



Meanwhile, I finished up a mistake rib scarf in Malabrigo Stonechat. It is the most fantastic yarn! I can't believe that Liz is lucky enough to have a sweater made with Malabrigo -- how simply wonderful!

Go Knit in Your Jacket!

Readers of this fantastic blog have seen a sneak-preview of this project, but here it is in all its finished-ness!

Pattern: Unconventional Jacket, test-knitted for Carol, knitter, designer, and dyer
To be available at Rosie's Yarn Cellar at some later date

Yarn: Noro Kureyon #126

This is an incredibly clever pattern that takes perfect advantage of Kureyon. It makes a roomy, dolman-sleeved jacket for an active kid. The jacket I knitted is sized for a 5-6 year old, but my Rosebud is one tiny 6 year old. It's pretty big on her, but she will not grow out of it instantly.




It is a very different experience to test-knit a pattern, since it is your job to follow the pattern as written, and not modify it to your needs, but I loved really being detailed and forcing myself to really do things right.

I did make a lot of errors throughout the knitting of this pattern, which, while I'm sure it was annoying for Carol, I think I did truly idiot-proof this pattern! If there was any part of this pattern that was hard to interpret, I was sure to do it wrong!

But the best part of all this test-knitting has been the chance to spend Tuesday afternoons with Carol, who is even better in real life than on her blog. And have you seen her newest pattern?

Rosebud loves it too!

Creating Along

The moment I read Julia's post introducing the Create-a-Long, I was instantly intrigued. What a brilliant idea! Rather than hosting a typical KAL, Julia and Marnie selected some yarns in their stash and invited other knitbloggers to design something, and blog about the process.

Luckily, I had almost all the yarns they selected in my stash: a couple of balls of Kidsilk Haze, one lone ball of Calmer, a truckload of Tahki Cotton Classic, (earmarked for a blanket) and two balls of Denim (in the interest of full disclosure, they might be Elann's Denim, but they are totally equivalent yarns), leftover from my MIL's sweater from last winter. I recently made a semi-pledge to myself to hold off on any significant stash enhancement until MDSW (no caveats there!), so I really wanted to design using stash.

It took a week or two of thinking before I decided on my design idea: a lace camisole/tank for Rosebud, to wear as a layering piece over regular cotton tanks, knit with Denim. I have lots of smallish quantities of leftover cottons in my stash, and love the idea of coming up with a sort of tank-template for her, with the idea of switching out lace patterns, bodice shapes or strap treatments as the inspiration hits.

I began with my Stitch Pattern-A-Day Calendar, and quickly settled on using Fishtail Lace as the main design element. The big question was choosing a needle size, since I wanted the tank to be lacy enough for her under-tank to peek out of the holes without having that macrame plant holder look. After purchasing an extra ball of Rowan Denim to ensure I had enough for copious swatching, I started with a US8 needle, knitted a swatch, then washed and dried it.


The idea is to begin with the lace all over, creating a nice scalloped bottom edge, and then transition to a mostly stockinette bodice, but continuing two lace panels that will then transition into i-cord straps.


Miraculously, I was pleased with the fabric it created, and am ready to begin knitting on the actual piece. I am, however, really trying to finish my CPH before my big trip to Chicago next weekend, so summer clothes for Rosebud might just have to take the backseat for a week or two!

CPH Friday

FO Alert from Mo

The Midlothian entry in the XRK CPH KAL is D.O.N.E.

I love this sweater, and I’ve been wearing it non-stop since I finished it on Tuesday. It was a very easy and quick knit, and I’m happy with the end result. I agree with other bloggers who have said this would be a great first sweater. Or a great sweater that you’ll actually wear.

Here are some details:
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie from Fall 2006 Knit Scene
Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed in wine, green and red (color 874)
Gauge: 17 st over 4 inches Needles: 8s and 6s. My new Knit Picks Options needle set came in handy for the buttonhole band.
Knit Flix (or movies watched during the making of this sweater): 49 Up, Ali Zaura: Prince of the Streets, Eron: the Smartest Guys in the Room; Flags of Our Fathers; The Devil and Daniel Johnston; Water and Quinceanera (my fav and, yes, I watch too much TV)

Photos courtesy of my kids who really just wanted to get to school!

Yarn Winding Party

Last night, mouse and I had a yarn winding party. She loves being part of this process, and I love having her help.

Here's a glimpse at some of our work.

* Up front we have Knit One Crochet Too Tartlette in Jellybean. This is slated for a poncho for Mouse.

* Our stacked Cascade 220 green, yellow and red will be felted into Kate Gilbert's Strawberry Clutch from Spring 2007 Knit Scene.

* And finally, the lovely silk/wool Reynolds Rapture is already in the process of becoming Tangelo (without the flowers) from Fall 2006 Knit Scene.

Stop by tomorrow to see my finished Central Park Hoodie!

Vesper Twins

Rosebud and I now have matching Vesper socks.

Pattern: the ubiquitous and always-satisfying Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn & Needles: Vesper Merino Sock, Crew, US1 40"Addi Turbo

Notes on the yarn: The colors? Gorgeous! The yardage? Enough for mother daughter socks! The wear? Not so great. After just one wear (Rosebud's were finished then slept in last night), they are very pilly. It's merino.

Notes: I've knitted 20 pairs of socks now, and I have definitely developed some preferences. Magic Loop. Toe-up. Widdershins heel flap. So with a little help from here and here, that's what I did.








No pattern here -- just a 48 stitch plain stockinette sock, toe-up with the Widdershins heel.

What's Just as Dangerous as a Yarn Store?

A garden shop. I had to drive by the Great Big Greenhouse today (Or GBGH as I refer to it on the memo line in my check book register. Other stores that have earned their own tag: TYL and FTLOC.). And since some recent car repairs were $50 less than I had budgeted and since I spent all weekend working in the garden, I had to stop and just look to see what was in ...



I bought lots of seeds. I had a blast. I usually order my seeds from Seed Savers or Johnny's, but I never put in my order this year (we have such a small yard, I usually share the seeds with someone else, but I just wasn't organized enough this year). The BackBou and I have been raking out the beds, planning new compost bins, restacking the woodpiles, and doing the pruning and deadheading that should have been done a month ago when things were more dormant than now.


I have lots of plans to improve the garden which will include a trip to Edible Landscaping in April to, I hope, buy two Arkansas Black apple trees and raspberries to plant by the back fence. I will be planting sugar snaps, carrots, and greens under floating row covers this weekend.


In the meantime, I will plug away at my seemingly endless plain knitting (taking a break from the Spartan and the CPH, I am knitting a felted vest for the RWS Auction) and enjoy the late winter/early spring offerings of the garden.

Blueberry buds

Lenten Rose

Primrose

Mr S Goes Electric

Six tries was all I needed to knit a mutually acceptable, properly executed, nicely fitting collar for Mr S's sweater. After all variations on funnels and scoops, we settled on a classic roll neck.

It was so hard for him to (in his mind) criticize the original sweater, and it took a little convincing that I was happy to keep trying until we got it right. He felt like he was rejecting my gift and all my hard work by acknowledging that the collar was wonky.

But for me, I was not going to put this sweater in the finished pile until it was right. I spent over two months knitting this sweater, and I expect it to be worn. I want it to be a useful garment, not some symbol of my willingness to put a lot of effort into something for the husband I love.

It was worth the extra two weeks of attention to find an acceptable solution, and I think he now understands that. I also think he liked being greeted every evening upon his return from work with "Hi honey. Take off your shirt."

As promised, here is Mr S in his new, finished sweater.



Notes:
Pattern: Dylan Goes Electric, designed by Karen Baumer, IK Summer 2005

Yarn: Cascade Sierra color #24, 8 skeins
Notes: I know a lot of knitters who do not like to knit cotton, but I am not one of them. I actually quite like knitting with cotton, and quite liked knitting with this (mostly cotton) yarn. It has lovely stitch definition and held up well to frogging. It also has enough body to be able to cable without a cable needle, which can be awfully hard with a slippery cotton yarn.

I also think, like other Cascade Yarns, that Sierra is a great value, with crazy yardage (191 yards) and a high quality yarn for a very reasonable (about $8!) price.

Obviously, the test is going to be in the wearing. I went with the suggested Sierra hoping that the wool content will keep this sweater from growing. After some wear and washing, I'll post an update.

Pattern Mods: I swapped out an uncomfortable, ill-fitting funnel neck for a classic roll neck. I knit one round of purl around the neck and knit about 2" of stockinette.

Lessons learned: I learned how to do nice ribbing one project too late. I am really stuck on how much nicer this sweater could have looked if I learned to rib in the combined style just a little sooner.


Also, Mr S does not like a funnel neck, no matter how many times we try, no matter what needle we choose or how high/low it hits him. Nor does he like anything that might qualify as a "mock turtleneck." He prefers a classic roll. Or a crew neck.

We'll just have to see if he actually wears this sweater. He promises he will.

CPH Friday

from Liz -- Notes on Ribbing Technique.

The Central Park Hoodie is the same as most sweaters in that it features a band of ribbing at the bottom edge of the sweater. Many knitters complain about the look of those loose knit stitches in their ribbing. One stitch is always looser, saggier, and looks distinctly bigger than its companions.

However, I recently discovered this bit of combined* wisdom from Nona and Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, and decided that the CPH was the perfect project to try it out.

Do take the time to read her whole post, but the basic explanation is that you get that loose knit stitch because a purl stitch uses more yarn than a knit stitch. The solution Nona offers is to purl using the same amount of yarn by wrapping the yarn clockwise rather than the usual counterclockwise manner.

Thus, when encountering a purl stitch directly after a knit stitch, wrap the yarn clockwise. On the following row, knit this stitch through the back loop to properly seat the stitches.

The difference is noticeable and really worth this little tweak. My ribbing has never looked so even, my knitting never looked so neat. It works beautifully on ribbing, and throughout the body of the sweater as well. I also never enjoyed ribbing quite so much as these little differences really break up the monotony of K2, P2.



For you CPH knitters, here's how to apply this bit of knowledge to your sweater:

Row 1 - * K2,P1 wrapping clockwise, P1, repeat from * to last two stitches, K2.
Row 2 - P2, * K1, K1tbl, P1 clockwise, P1, repeat from *to last 2 stitches, P1 clockwise, P1
Row 3 - * K1, Ktbl, P1 clockwise, P1, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K1, Ktbl

Repeat rows 2 & 3 for 4".

I also applied this technique to the body of the sweater, so every time I encounter a purl stitch directly following a knit, I purl this stitch with the clockwise wrap, and then knit that stitch through the back loop.

My only concern is that my ribbing is so even that it seems a little tighter than it should be, and I am worried that it will pull in a little too severely. I am planning on blocking the back before proceeding and examining the results. I'll let you in on what I find next Friday!

* this is actually the basic foundation of combination knitting, which is famous for creating neat, even stitches without rowing out.

From Mo:

This old girl isn’t sure if her ribbing is sagging or not. I’m kind of oblivious to some details. I do use the continental method, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Speaking of details, I’ve been won over by the wonder of stitch markers. I understand this is an everyday essential used by sensible detailed oriented knitters everywhere. Being that I’m neither, it never really crossed my mind. Plus, I generally refuse to keep notes in the margins or on sticky pads about those important details. You know, those things you think you’ll remember or will be able figure out by counting stitches or rows.

Now, I understand that stitch markers actually jive with my lazy ways. Mark it and forget it. For this project, they’ve been especially helpful with marking the 10-row cable pattern. One less thing one my mind.

Last night, I reached the sleeve caps, so I’m really trucking.

Elevating the Mundane

Despite my usual position in the "product" side of the process v. product debate, when it comes to lace, I am all about the process. I love finding the rhythm of the repeats and learning to read the lace. I struggle despite the life lines and liberal use of stitch markers and endure the inevitable tinking. I hunker down for the endless rows as the shawl grows. I marvel as I observe my work bloom into beautiful wings as I pin it out.

I struggled with Icarus. The yarn was sticky. It took me a while to be able to read the lace well enough to catch errors quickly. It got really big at the end, each row taking almost 30 minutes to complete. It required my total concentration, which meant my time to knit it on any given day was limited.

But anyone who knits lace knows that the payoff is worth it. This shawl is romantic, weblike and very warm. It is elegant and buttery, with a slight shimmer from the silk in the yarn. It is an instant heirloom, a classic piece of handiwork. And I made it.

I know knitters who do not knit lace, claiming that they'll never wear a fussy lace shawl.

As a stay-at-home Mom, I rarely have occasion to wear a fancy lace shawl. I have yet to be invited to a garden party or ladies tea, and hot dates with Mr. S are more likely to be at a basketball game (especially during this time of year) than at a romantic restaurant. Most of my days consist of any combination of cooking, interacting, nurturing, and cleaning. But doing these activities while wrapped in a gossamer blood-red lace shawl can elevate the most mundane task from the dull to the sublime.






Who says you don't have occasion to wear a lace shawl? That it is today is reason enough to wear a lace shawl. That I made it is enough to wear a lace shawl. Today is a special occasion because I am wearing my lace shawl.




Notes:
Pattern: Icarus, by Miriam Felton, IK Summer 2006, or available here

Yarn: Alpaca With A Twist Fino in a Ruby Slippers. It is an alpaca/silk blend that has an incredibly smooth, buttery hand and a shimmery look. The alpaca makes it fuzzy, thus it can be sticky, and hard to frog. However, this is my first experience with a true laceweight, so I do not have experience to compare it with other lace yarns.

Pattern Mods: I did one fewer repeat of the first chart than the pattern calls for, since it is a very large shawl if knit as written, and I am a petite gal. And it is a pretty big shawl, even with the mod.

The Sleeveless Spartan

Languish ('la[ng]-gwish): 1a: to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated, b: to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality; 2a: to become dispirited, b: to suffer neglect (the sleeveless Spartan languished in the knitting bag for weeks); 3: to assume an expression of grief or emotion appealing for sympathy.

I ran out of yarn. It's as simple as that. The Spartan sweater for the BackBou has no sleeves. This is not a tragedy; my yarn order has shipped (not the same dye lot) and I should be back in Spartan-sleeve-land very soon. However, I've engaged in some meta-knitting-cognition (thinking about thinking about knitting) over this project derailment. I didn't just put down the sleeveless Spartan. I lost the vision. I let the Spartan languish. (You with the 70s hits on the iPod, time to cue MacArthur Park.)

I have been accused by others of being a bit obsessive about projects. (I am.) However, I actually think I have achieved much more balance in my life since I've had children and learned to knit. You should have seen me back in the days when I was experimenting with weaving chair seats with cane and rush.

I was like an addict on a binge: personal hygiene was the first to go, then dishes piled up in the sink and meals became a bowl of cereal and some pretzels. I would eventually emerge a bit worse for wear, the intense high of the process over, left to bask in the glow of the finished project. Then the stink of the kitty litter, the stack of dirty dishes, and the mountains of laundry would materialize ... bump, I would land, sober.

I flirt with that kind of intensity now, but never fall completely under the spell -- the children and the husband take care of that. However, the magic of seeing the FO in my mind's eye and having the focus and ability to make it real is intoxicating. The vision of the object is the driving force for me but it is the creation of it that is my knitter's high. After the creation, it becomes just another thing; a source of pride and pleasure to be sure, but as they say, the thrill is gone.

So if the vision of the FO is the engine powering my creative drive, what happens when there is a malfunction? Let's say, a fuel shortage ... a lack of sufficient yardage ... a gross miscalculation ... an embarassing shortfall of yarn. The vision does not disappear immediately but during these past 10 days, the dream of the FO became fainter and fainter, until yesterday I barely even remembered that the sleeveless Spartan was in the house.

As the sleeveless Spartan (my Valentine's present to the BackBou) has languished, so has the vision. The vision is in a state of depression, weak and feeble. I am afraid that the influx of the necessary yarn will not be enough to revive the creative energy and thus the completion of the Spartan will be simply a chore.

Or will I be able to pick up the incomplete sweater, feel the softness of the merino in my hands and hear the click of the Addi's as I cast on for the sleeves, and feel the same joyful rush and envigorating thrill as before? We shall see ...

CPH Friday

Liz:

It's Central Park Hoodie Friday here at XRK, where we update you on all things CPH.

To distract you from my total lack of knitting (hence, no pics) on my CPH, I thought I would compile a list of useful links and inspiration for other CPH knitters.

Now, we know this isn't the official KAL, which you can find here. There are a ton of gorgeous finished sweaters to admire.

The pattern is printed in this issue of Knitscene Magazine.
And here is a link to the errata for the pattern.

Cara just finished hers this week, and I have been getting really excited about knitting mine after reading her adventures. Did you check out when she fixed her miscrossed cable?

Another fave of mine is Rachael's, hers in a variegated Araucania Nature Wool Chunky.

For a third, totally different look, here is Carrie's, in Cascade Sierra, which is the same yarn I used for Mr S's (still unfinished) DGE.

As for me, I am knitting my CPH using good old reliable Cascade 220 Heathers, in a purple color (#9341, garnet heather) that looks frighteningly similar to Mo's tweedy sweater. I had to go up to US9s to get stitch gauge and plan on recalculating (using Nona's Multiplier) a bit to account for a slight difference in row gauge.

Nona's also going to help me improve my ribbing. You know, as soon as I actually cast-on.

Ann:
I also have enjoyed perusing all the wonderful CPHs out there in blog-land. Cara's was the one that just did me in, this is a fabulous sweater!

I've been sitting on this great stash of Maggi's Aran Tweed for almost a year now -- purchased at a great price at a LYS's huge sale -- here's a shot I took of Tina scrounging for the good stuff down on the floor.
I was able to procure 20 skeins of this wonderful yarn and I'm so happy to finally knit a sweater with enough stash to actually finish the project without ordering more. (Wait one second while I knock on some wood ...)

I am about a half inch away from the shoulder shaping on the back and am thoroughly pleased with how it's coming along!

Anemoi Hat Pattern

Anemoi Hat

This hat is the perfect mate for the Anemoi Mittens by Eunny Jang. Let the cold winds blow! Please post any comments, corrections, or improvements. Also, send links to photos of your own Anemoi Hat.

Materials
Yarn: 1 skein of Wildfoote Vanilla [MC], 1 skein of Wildfoote Blue Boy [CC]
Needles: US 2 circular needles, 16 inch and set of 5 US 2 double pointed needles
Notions: stitch marker, tapestry needle

Size
The pattern is written to fit a medium-sized head (about 21-22 inch circumference). You should be able to adjust the size by adding or subtracting a pattern repeat and proportionally reducing or increasing the cast-on.

Gauge
36 sts / 32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Notes
I made this a bit loose because I intend to sew in a fleece liner. If you do not want to line the hat, knit in a smaller needle size.

For lack of a legend, read the charts thus: shaded squares are CC, white squares are MC, S = slip stitch purlwise with the yarn in back, / = knit 2 together.

Ribbing
Using circular needles, CO 160 st. Place marker, join to work in the round being careful not to twist. Knit one round.

Rib round 1: Attach CC; k1MC, k1CC, *k1MC, p1MC, k1MC, k1CC, rep from *, end k1MC, p1MC.
Rib round 2: k1MC, p1CC, *k1MC, p1MC, k1MC, p1CC, rep from *, end k1MC, p1MC.

Repeat round 2 eight more times or until desired length of ribbing.

Hat Body
Increase round: With MC, *k4, m1. Repeat from * to end of round. 200 st.
Knit one round MC.
Knit one round CC.
Knit two rounds MC.
Follow chart one. Eliminate or repeat diamond pattern (red bracketed section) for smaller or larger sizes.

Crown
Slip Stitch decrease round one (round 1 of chart two): With MC only, *sl1wyib (this will be in CC), k16, k2tog, sl1wyib (this will also be in CC). Repeat from * to end of round.
Resuming stranded colorwork, continue following chart two until there are 10 st remaining. K2tog five times so that there are 5 stitches left, break yarn and thread it through remaining stitches. Pull tight, weave in ends.

Finishing
Weave in all ends and block hat thoroughly. Sew in fleece liner.

Chart One

Chart Two

White Lies from the Knitter's Husband

I know how I teased you with a little picture of Mr. S's sweater, and promised a weekend photo-shoot, but unfortunately I cannot deliver. The sweater needs more attention. The collar is not right.

Before he tried it on Valentines Day morning, I made sure he understood that the reason the ends had not been woven was to make it a little easier to make changes. If the sleeves needed lengthening, or if the fit wasn't right, I could change it. Really.

When he put it on, it was obvious with the amount of shoulder-shrugging and collar-tugging and neck over-extension that the collar was not comfortable. Remember, Mr. S is not a sweater-guy. Mr. S does not wear turtlenecks or anything that might the least bit constricting around the neck.

I asked him if the collar was uncomfortable. He continued to pull, yank, and adjust, and assured me that it must be the t-shirt he was wearing under the sweater.

He blamed the t-shirt.

Knitters know that there is nothing quite so simple as adjusting a collar, and it is a common thing to modify a neckline. Changing a neck to make a sweater more comfortable is an easy fix, with a minimum of ripping and tooth-gnashing. But Mr. S did not know that, so he blamed the t-shirt, instead of acknowledging that the sweater cut uncomfortably across the base of his neck and returning his sweater for further attention.

Thank you, my Mr S, for blaming the t-shirt. It's clearly the collar that is the problem.

So the collar is going back to the drawing board. A half-assed effort to short-row the back and lower the front a bit did not work, so additional experimentation is necessary.

I am open to suggestion, readers.

Anemoi Hat

Finally finished and blocked, here is the Anemoi Hat! See the swirls of the wind gods gusting above the ribbing ...


Eunny was very gracious, and thank you to all those who encouraged me to email her. Quite the sensible thing to do! She was very complimentary and was pleased that I had contacted her. As she wrote in her email: "My only concern with this kind of thing is if a new pattern somehow shafts people who have payed full price for the original off my site – for example, if you’d included the chart in the pattern and wanted to give it away for free. That’s not the case here, of course – I say go ahead." Excellent!


After a few more pictures, I will be passing this off to a friend for the addition of a fleece liner. I hope to have the pattern posted this weekend!

I forgot: Happy Project Spectrum for February!

Second Annual XRK Knit-Along

We're knitting al0ng together at Crossroads Knits. Last year, we did the Simply Lovelies with varying degrees of success and enjoyment.

This year, it's the Central Park Hoodie from Fall 2006 KnitScene.

My CPH is knit in Tahki Donegal Tweed (color 874) on 6s and 8s.

The planned start day was Valentine's Day, but I so cheated and started about two weeks ago. Here are the beginnings of my sleeves. The back and front are done.

Will you join us? No sign ups, no due dates, no pressure, just knitting along.

Valentines, Chez K

Warm croissants for breakfast

Heart Necklaces for Rosebud

Dinosaur book for Pepe

Finished hand-knit sweater for Mr. S

IP Musings

So as I embarked on the Anemoi Hat adventure, I find myself musing about Intellectual Property Laws and knitting patterns. Am I "ripping off" or "riffing off" when I take Eunny's Anemoi Mittens pattern and translate those swirls and the assymetrical corrugated ribbing into a hat? I'd like to think that this is more like jazz than law, working within a style rather than plagiarism, inspired by spirit but modifying form.

Are there ethical issues with this? Will Eunny view this as a theft of her creative energy? or will she, more true to my perception, see this as a desperate stab at a tribute to her glorious pattern-making (the "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" approach).

Anyhoo, just some thoughts as I plug away at the wonderful but tedious assymetrical corrugated ribbing ...

For your entertainment today, from John at Buttermilk & Molasses, check out onBeing from The Washington Post. As John describes it: "[NPR's] Storycorps on film, minus the maudlin moments. (So far.)"

Also, make sure you preorder this book when you preorder your HP7!

Le Beret de Rosebud

The berets -- they are everywhere! I love to wear a woolen beret in the winter, and have been wanting to knit one for myself after seeing Mo's cool tweedy one. But since I've been craving the FO, I decided to knit one for my Rosebud first, especially after seeing this one.



Pattern: Taos Beret

Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora 06 (from stash!)

Mods: I modified this pattern quite a bit -- I wanted a slouchier, poufy-er beret, so I did a second increase round (K4 M1) to eventually increase to 150 stitches total). I knitted straight for 3.5", and then sped up the decrease rounds because I was running out of yarn. I knitted the first 4 decrease rounds as called for in the pattern with a plain round between each, but then I simply knit each round as a decrease round until I got to 6 stitches total. The top of the beret would have been flatter had I spaced the decreases as called for, but I really like those sharp pleats at the top. I think it gives the beret a bit of structure.



I also added a little milky pearl button on the top, for a little flair.

One thing about the yarn: it is not stretchy at all. It is soft, but it has absolutely no stretch. I plan to thread a bit of elastic in the ribbing a la Grumperina to keep it on her head.