Today, I sent off in the mail to my sister, this:

the second of the twin ivy-league vests. I wore it, to test it out, one day, and was 1) invited to a party, 2) met with good grades in vergil and homer, and 3) hit on spectacularly in the coffeeshop (“can I just stand here? and admire that amazing sweater? also, we’re wearing the same shoes!”).

“Wear it and succeed!” I told her.

Pattern: Ivy League Vest by Eunny Jang

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (don’t think there’s anything else in there). Ran out of the lightest brown, and it’s quite obvious, right around where the v-neck starts, but, the overall article is quite fine and there’s nothing to be down about it now.

The pattern’s more obvious than in its older sister– less colors of yarn used = more coherence, less excitement.

Needles: sz. 2 and sz. 4s, I think.

coming soon:

These are ear-warmers, which one slides onto the triangle-shaped straps of a bicycle helmet, for warm, dry, wintertime riding– an eventual present for one of the only people I know who regularly wears a bicycle helmet.

I had them made, up to the bottom half-inch of the last one, when I ran out of yarn– and the store had to order another skein all the way from Raleigh. A whole 2 or 3 days.

this led me to unravel them, and, instead of working in the round (not working in the round nearly broke my heart), to make a total of four pieces, two of each (luckily, masculine) color, and sew one to the other.

ergo: reversible. +5 Style.

may you be well-accepted, dear little ear-warmers.

Pattern: Bicycle Helmet Ear Warmers

Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Blue Flannel, and in… “Brown.” this yarn should be recognizable from a previous project.

Needles: Takumi sz. 7 DPNs.

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also on the knitting pile: orlane’s textured shawl, which I am working on during our rehearsals for “Die Physiker”.

hat #15 in the Great Christmas Hat Project. Two to go.

Pattern: Jacques Cousteau Hat

Yarn: 2 strands of Knit Picks Palette in Cream, held together to approximate a worsted weight. Used maybe 3 skeins, total.

Needles: Takumi sz. 4’s, Brittany sz. 4 DPNs.

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and, the penultimate:

Pattern: Seaman’s Cap (made for the first time last christmas; now felted into yarmulke-sized proportions, thanks to someone’s carelessness.)

Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Worsted (which was originally bought for repairing my ubiquitous brown felted bag)

Needles: sz.6 Takumi circulars.

What used to be a blanket that turned out unbearably ugly (blame the color variations),

is now a tangle-pile (actually, now balled and stashed), ready for a new life.

= 5 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash.

last Thursday, I cast on for a shawl, which I wanted for myself– but in the process of making it, realized it would be a perfect present for a friend of mine, who, the weekend prior, had admired something I’d made, and uttered the fateful words, “oh, would you knit me something, too!?”

here comes the unfortunate part.

this shawl is the most beautiful. η καλλιστη. the most autumnal, a pattern I thought I’d hate (see: aversion to trends), quicker than I thought, lends itself easily to dress-up:

and

and I love it so much and want to wear it every day. However, I am advised: so will she.

Question: What to do, what to do?

To Wit:

Pattern: Lacy Baktus Scarf

Yarn: Schaeffer Yarns Anne, in, Coincidentally, The Only Orange I Could Ever Love (superwash merino and mohair)

Needles: sz. 3’s

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Easy Answer: make another one.

Easier Answer: keep it.

Actual Answer: pending

I’m working on commission, now.

For my mother, for my sister’s piano teacher’s daughter’s new son: the baby surprise jacket,

a pair of baby booties,

and a bonnet, for when he gets older.

Pattern: all Elizabeth Zimmerman, from The Opinionated Knitter

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, in Navy and Marble Heather (I do nothing, if not: reinforce traditional gender roles.)

Needles: sz. 3s.

So much garter, so much i-cord. Next baby-present-request, though, I think I’ll try something else.

old bottles (am starting a collection?), deer skull, mirror found by the side of the road, shimano 105 derailleurs for a friend, soon-to-be-given-away money-plant from home, all on a bookcase.

So, I jumped right in to this project– although I had to account for the fact that it was designed for a man, using yarn thicker than mine. Namely:

Gauge swatched.

For a 33″ chest (allowing 1″ of ease), cast on 184 sts.

Knit straight up (no waist or bust shaping) to the armholes– a 20-row garter stitch border at the bottom (meaning, 10 garter ridges), and 14-stitch garter panels up the sides.

For the sleeves, I just worked:

x/52 = 184/176

using the proscribed CO amounts from the pattern in the denominators. That resulted in CO 54, with 10-ridge garter borders again. About an inch before the sleeve was as long as I wanted it, I worked:

inc. round: m1, k2, m1, k plain

alternating with plain rounds, ingesamt fünfmal.

To join, I put the underarm stitches on scrap yarn– 14 from each side panel on the body, and 14 from each arm, centered on the increases– 54 stitches in all– and here I am:

Otherwise, things are going well. I think there’s too much twist in the yarn– look at how diagonal the stitches in the arm are– but hopefully I can block that out. It’s also uneven (and unplied), so there are some scarily thin spots, which I’m sure will break the first time I wear it– although maybe it might felt slightly and hold itself together? One can only hope.

Next up: the garter yoke, and back-of-the-neck shortrows. woooo!

PS: got a letter from Seattle today.

PPS: in the Meno today, there was a brief discussion of Themistocles’ son being able to stand up straight on a horse, and throw javelins at the same time.

PPPS: the spinning wheel is gone. it was quite a conversation piece.