Oh Captain, my captain
May I present Captain Barnacles, commanding officer of the Octonauts:
More soon.
What do you get...
...when you cross a rabbit with a gourd?
Stay tuned!
FO and behold
I finally grafted the toe of the second Flamingo sock for Ellie, and voila:
This is the first pair of socks I've knit in ages -- I'd forgotten what a crazy thing it is to knit a tube that bends at an angle! Such fun. Who on earth figured that one out? Thanks again for this great yarn, Carolyn! These little guys inspired me to buy Actual Sock Yarn for the first time in years...but more of that shopping adventure anon. I think I'm still shell-socked, er, -shocked!
Another bunny
Here's the second (of a million, you know) Fuzzy Mitten bunny. I took my time this time and am pleased with the results. This one has been put away for some little child I don't know yet. (Which reminds, me -- yes, Rachel, certainly you can be counted among the children I know! You're eternally youthful!)
I used some Frog Tree merino worsted that I got at Loopy. Must go back for more of this yarn in other colors! It's great for this pattern -- nice and soft. Size 7s were exactly the right size in this case. I faked my way through the sweater using Lamb's Pride. The designer sells a model of this bunny with a worsted-weight sweater pattern included, but I don't have that particular pattern. Stay tuned for the designer's pinafore dress, though! One more shot:
Long time, no post
I have some catching up to do! First, it was Christmas in January here at Healthy Tension as Carolyn destashed. Ah, bliss:
I was a fool as Linen Drape sailed off into the sunset and didn't lay in a lifetime's supply...this generous gift certainly eases the pain! And to receive this yarn at this time of year is therapy for winter blahs, that's for sure. Getting out my summer Rowan books from back in L.Drape's heyday and daydreaming was just what I needed.
Ellie was with me when I received this yarn...she insisted on holding this skein all the way home, so I knew the first thing to come from it would be socks for her. This is Opal in the Flamingo colorway -- such fun!
The colors pop a lot more in real life. There was also a skein of Kureyon in the pack, which has already been knit into one-third of a hat and frogged. Thanks so much, Carolyn!!
This may be it
As you know, I've tried a number of toy patterns since Ellie was born. I've been hoping to find one that was quick but gave results that I could comfortably and proudly give away as gifts to little ones. I always found something to criticize in the earlier efforts, either in the pattern or in my execution. But this pattern, from fuzzymitten.com, may be what just I'm looking for.
I rushed through this one -- used a yarn I probably won't again (Wool-Ease), inexplicably picked up 7s when the pattern calls for 6s, tried my own thing with the nose, didn't like it, tried to remove it and ended up leaving the cropped floss-ends as the nose...but Ellie and I both love it. When I actually do it up right, my extra efforts will render it hideous, I'm going to make a million of them and give them to all the children I know (with embroidered eyes for safety for the littlest ones, of course). The pattern is very clear and not terribly fiddly. There are clothes patterns for these guys, too! I'm really pleased with the whole shebang.
Knits of yore
Keeping with the dark-green/red-family theme, here's a sweater I knit some time ago but never blogged about:
It's Roadster from Rowan 33. The pattern was written for All Seasons Cotton, and I used Araucania Nature Wool, so it is pretty cropped. But I really like it, and it's wearing well. I think I might have made it in 2004.
The buttons are porcelain with hand-painted red chrysanthemums on them (I think they're hand-painted, and I think they're chrysanthemums, anyway). They were given to me by Clark's mother, who brought them home from a trip she took around the world when she was in her 20s. I think they're Japanese.
I think she just put the trip together herself, and went. I always admired her for that. Also for being able to find a souvenir to give to me from a trip taken long before I was born! She also gave me some beautiful blue Thai silk that she had kept all that time. My own mom then sewed it into an amazing dress that I wore many times in the 1990s. But that's another story. In fact, that may be another story that I've already told here. But it really is a beautiful dress.
Hope my Chicago peeps are able to keep frostbite at bay. Heat wave this weekend, though -- it should get up to freezing.
P.S. to Sue -- I had to smile when I saw your Lynton -- I already had the pictures of this sweater ready for a post when I saw yours...they could be (fraternal) twins!
Right where I left it
OK, the camera cable is out of its undisclosed location and back in hand. The week before last, Clark was out of town all week, and I didn't have as much time for making things as I generally do. So I took 20 minutes and made the lil' bird applique I'd been thinking about for my messenger bag:
I made the bag ages ago (Nov. '06, that is) using this tutorial. I thought it was a trial run and would live in the closet or eventually donate its parts to science, but I've ended up carrying it a lot. This season, its plain front just spoke to me, "Emmmbelllliiisssh meeeeee" Startled, I complied.
So this is fabric and interfacing, cut out using this bird template, sewn right-sides together, all the way around. Then you cut a small slit in the interfacing, turn it right side out, et voila! Carolyn might not even remember this (though she might), but she explained how to do this to me once months ago while riding home from a KIP.
Ah, bloggers! Where would I be without you? Friendless and bagless on a frigid, snowy Chicago day, that's where. Though I would still have airtight windows, and that would help.
