1, 1, 2, 3, 5 . . . Finished!

Another side effect of my lapsed blogging is that I fell out of the habit of taking photos of inanimate objects. In other words, I forgot to take pictures of my knitting. Now, this isn't such a big deal for something like the Hermione hat, which I can pull out of my pocket and photograph at a moment's notice.

But, when you knit something for a little girl (A.) who lives in Pennsylvania, and mail it to her for her birthday, and forget to snap a picture of it before sending it in the mail, things get a little more complicated. I had heard through the grapevine that A. received my Fibonacci sweater, that it fit, and that she had christened it "my pretty princess sweater." But I was a little sad to know that I might never be able to record it for posterity. So imagine my delight when the little princess herself showed up for Christmas festivities wearing this:

I'm sure that A. (and her mother) would want me to mention that even princesses sometimes have accidents. With chairs. And even princesses sometimes get black eyes right before all those Christmas pictures. Anyway, rest assured that A. is usually a very pretty, happy little girl. And doesn't she look awesome in the sweater? Here are the details:

Pattern: Adapted from The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, various colors (if anyone wants the actual color stripe sequence, just contact me and I'll try to reconstruct it--again, poor record keeping). The stripe sequence is based on the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 rows of each color)

Started: 8/28/2006

Finished: 11/11/2006

Comments: I really enjoyed this project. Designing the stripe sequence was a challenge for me, particularly since I used nine different colors and not all of them looked good right next to one another. But I was pleased with the overall color effect. The main changes I made to Ann Budd's pattern involved the sleeve length, which I shortened somewhat to make the stripes match up better and to match the shorter arm length of a three-year-old. I also made up my own edge ribbing rather than following any of her suggestions.

My only frustration with the project is that it took a long time to finish. Not because it was tricky, or difficult, or at all time-consuming, but because in the early stages of the project, it's not very portable. Having to change colors every row or two means you have to carry around a lot of yarn, so the sweater was confined to at-home knitting for much of its life. Once I got to the fat pink and purple stripes, though, the sweater was a quick, easy, and eminently portable project.

Ann Budd's pattern is definitely not the style of sweater I would choose for myself, but it is a great base to use for basic children's sweaters that you just want to embellish in some way or adapt for your own uses. Highly recommended!

Happy Holidays!

I'm about to go dashing through the rain (no white Christmas here, that's for sure) down to Pennsylvania for the long Christmas weekend, so I just wanted to send out a brief message wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas. Back next week with (I hope) more pictures of finished objects, and the current WiP.

Yes, I Have Been Knitting

OK, so I haven't been blogging or making regular appearances at Knitsmiths lately (more on that later) but I have been knitting, believe it or not, and I actually have some finished objects to show for it. To wit:


Pattern: Hermione hat, available here.

Yarn: Alpaca from The Spinners Hill Shop, picked up at Mass. Sheep and Wool in June.

Started: Not sure (while watching one of the Harry Potter movies, I think)

Finished: While watching another one at some unspecified (later) date--witness the problems that ensue when one is not blogging regularly! You lose track of dates, forget to take pictures of finished objects, start wandering the streets of Boston with a vaguely crazed expression . . . you get the picture.

Comments: I have nothing but good things to say about this project. I loved the pattern, which was complicated enough to keep things interesting but repetitive enough that I could watch the aforementioned HP movies while knitting it. I learned a new technique (bobbles) and, of course, continued to work on my cabling skills, since lately I seem unable to do any project that doesn't involve cabling.

As for the yarn, I love, love, love this stuff. Even though so far this winter it's rarely been cold enough for me to wear it, I am in the habit of carrying the hat around in my coat pocket so I can pet it like a small friendly creature or something. It's like a warm fuzzy in my pocket. I know the color isn't so Gryffindoresque (sorry, Hermione), but I love all the colors of green. The best part? I still have more than enough yarn left over to make a matching scarf. Stay tuned!

I Know, I Know . . .

Yes, it's been (ahem) almost three months since I've made an appearance here. Life's been a little hectic this fall, and with work and personal obligations, something had to give . . . I haven't been writing my own blog, and I've fallen frighteningly behind on my other blog reading, which is even less forgiveable!

My intention is to get back up to speed starting next week. I've got quite a backlog of knitting projects to show and tell. The rest of this week is pretty much a lost cause, though, given that I have three handbell concerts in as many days this upcoming weekend. Speaking of which . . .

I just wanted to let those of you in the Boston area know about the Back Bay Ringers' winter holiday concert, "Ring in the Holidays," Friday, December 15 at 8 PM at Church of the Covenant in Boston. We're playing some exciting and challenging music, and it should be a great concert.

I'll hope to see some of you there--in the meantime, I'll try to reconnect with y'all online in just a couple of days.