FO : Hat attack hat

A simple yet cute hat designed for my mom as her requests

I used about a skein of Knit Picks Comfy bulky in Ivory.

Needle : 5mm

Easy easy as I used the same pattern all around to keep it simple. Since last year she wears it a lot and the yarn is still beautiful !



If I have a little time ahead I will find my notes and released the pattern I hope before the end of the month.

FO : Baby ruched cardigan

After a very good trip to Cuba (which I will talk about in a couple of days) I way up to some knitting time. I choose to knit a pattern I bought for my baby, whose is already 9 months olds !!! I make it just in time because it fit her, ok it's still big enough but we always need layers for a baby.

No more chat just look at the spec

Pattern : Baby Ruched Cardigan by Terri Kruse

Yarn : Knit Picks Stroll Tonal 370 yards in color Queen Anne (about 80% of a skein)

Needle : 3.5mm and 3.75mm circular needle

Size : 2T

Mods : I didn't increase on the row 11 as written and I just knit forward. My final cardigan is a big 18 months or a small 2yo size. Also I did not add any closure of button and prefered to let it open

I really really love the yarn I used and I already have it in mind for my next order to Knit Picks ! It's so soft and I like the smell if it too. Maybe I can plan a sweater for me with it...but just after my Thermal that I going to dig out of hibernation soon.

I am very happy with the result and even more because my daughter say "da!" when I made her to try it which mean something like "yes" to her. Knit from stash and more I knit the pattern I had in mind when I bought yarn ! Wow I'm getting better to this...

FO : from 2010 finally got pictures

Yay another FO from 2010 made it to the WEB !!!

I am proud to present you my nephew Zachary wearing is very cool hoody ! Go boy and enjoy...

Spec :

Pattern : What a Character Hoodie by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence (bought as a kit on Knit Picks)

Needle : 4.5mm

Yarn : Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in color Jalapeno, Peapod and Fedora.

Notes : forgot the character part of the pattern I wasn't pleased and thought it would be more wearable without. Made the 4 years old size and it's big enough and he have plenty of room to grow into (I was afraid of making again a sweater too small for him!). I hate the way the hood is attached to the body, if I do it again I would simply go on from the body to the hood instead of knitting in 2 parts. I add bias tape inside to solidify and used a zipper.

The yarn is simply soft and can go through washer and dryer which is very good ! Loved working with it and I already bought some more.

I am addicted to yarn...

Do you know how much yarn you have hiding here and there ? Do you have plans for it or you buy without a idea of the pattern you would like to make with ? I am a serious knitter since somewhere in 2006 so close to 5 years of knitting for me ! I have a little under 100's projects listed on Ravelry (the few first one aren't listed since it's before Ravelry). I just wanted to know how bad my stash was and made some resolutions :

Here is what my stash look on my queen size bed

A lot, ...too much I would say... I definitely need to reduce my stash before we move later on this year.

Here is the plan :

1. List everything on Ravelry to know exactly what I got (almost there just need to upload my big bucks store purchases).

2. Knit from stash only with two exception I can buy yarn for a knitted gift but need to knit every bit of yarn now of for a test knit.

3. Finish WIP (project touch within 3 months).

4. Finish UFO (project untouched for more than 3 months).

5. Find project to knit for leftover.

I need to be completely honest it won't be easy as I love to buy yarn, but I have no choice, it's sleeping money in boxes ! Plus with a moving ahead it will only make a few boxes less to carry around.

The first box is full of fingering weight

I have a plan to help me out with that box...

Then box number 2 full of worsted, sport and bulky yarn

Then a third one is again full of brand new yarn... different weight

Then a box full of WIP and UFO

My big box's store bought yarn

The last box is very very full of leftovers

Whoa it's a lot !!!

and a little something left... a bag full of WIP and UFO...

OK be honest too and tell me that you also have an uncontrollable stash. I am not the first member of the YAA (yarn addict anonymous).

Hello, my name is Sophie and I am a yarn addict. I will work hard to reduce my stash and buy no more yarn until we move out of here and that I will have more place to store it. Plus I also promise not to buy yarn without a pattern in mind and find stash buster projects to use my leftover quickly.

FO : Cloud bolero

Yes another one again ! So fun to bust quick project like those one. I am super productive these days with my knitting and also with my cleaning, must be close to end of my pregnancy I am super active in cleaning too!

This one was mostly knitted while watching Wimbledon and being so proud of Nadal !!!

Here are the spec

Pattern : Cloud bolero by Ysolda Teague

Size : medium (36-38)

Needle : 8mm

Yarn : Mano del Uruguay Cotton stria in pink color that I love, just under 2 skein (approx. 220 yards)

Cast on : June 30th and Cast off July 2nd

Mods : none I just for sure didn't use yarn called for but was right on gauge (for one time a year that I check...)

Errata : there is a little errata in the pattern in the first section at row 20, after you place the second marker B it says (k1, yo) 3 times, but it must read (yo, k1) 3 times. It's not fatal and doesn't compromise your knitted bolero if you don't notice but it's always fun to know that we made the best we can to achieve the best knitting in each piece.

___
18th FO of 2010, already have knitted 6496 yards so far

FO : Baby stroller blanket

Yes I finally finish THE blanket for my daughter and I am very proud of it ! So I also decided to publish my pattern, not that it's so complicated but it may be useful for any knitter that what it and likes my work on this one. So here are the instructions for my first free pattern ever !!

Pattern : Stroller baby blanket by Sophie Bergeron

Needle : 3.5mm

Yarn : Bernat Baby Sport in white and popsicle blue about 150 gr of each color (478 yard of each color)

Pattern :

The blanket has been created to be perfect size for a stroller, a car seat or also to carry around in little hands. I choose acrylic yarn to be easy on care and mom budget too ! Contrast colors are also great for our kids eyes and are easy for them to focus on. Also with two different texture it will be a great exploration for the little hands as well.

The little story behind this blanket is that the day that my love, Nicolas, and I found out that we were having a little girl at the ultrasound, we bought the stroller in a turquoise color that we both love and then my boyfriend came back from the end of the row at Walmart with two huge balls of Bernat Sport Baby and his best smile asking if I can do something for our daughter to go in the stroller. So I cast on for a blanket without any other though and I finally made something from my mind completely.

Finished size is : 24 inches 1/2 by 24 inches 1/2

Squares instructions :

Using 3.5mm needles, CO 72 sts

Row 1 : k 36, place marker, k36

Row 2 : k 2 sts before marker, ssk, k2tog, k til the end of the row (70 sts)

Row 3 : k all sts

Repeat row 2 and 3, 2 more time (66 sts)

Attach contrast color

Stockinette section

Row 1 : p until 2 sts before marker p2tof, p2tog, p til the end of the row (64 sts)

Row 2 : k all sts

Repeat row 1 and 2, 3 times (58 sts)

Continue with main color

Garter section

Row 1 : k 2 sts before marker, ssk, k2tog, k til the end of the row (56 sts)

Row 2 : k all sts

Repeat row 1 and 2, 3 times (50 sts)

Repeat stockinette and garter section one after the other alternately until there are 10 sts left on needles. Using main color.

Row 1 : k3, ssk, k2tog, k3 (8 sts)

Row 2 : k

Row 3 : k2, ssk, k2tog, k2 (6 sts)

Row 4 : k

Row 5 : k1, ssk, k2tog, k1 (4 sts)

Row 6 : k

Row 7: ssk, k2tog (2 sts)

Row 8 : k2tog

Leave a long tail to sew squares together later on.

Using any color contrast you like, make 16 squares and sew them together. I begun with 4 bigger squares together and then I assemble the 4 big squares together and weave all ends in too.

You can add a liner to hide the wrong side, personally I will buy white polar fleece to add some comfort to the blanket and made it easy for me to wash it as often as needed... :)

Let me know if you do this little blanket for your own little kids !!!

Only thing left for me now...have my own bundle of joy and be super hot with my matching blanket and stroller ! Hip mama, watch out I'm coming !

Stash management

Do you ever bought yarn without knowing what project you are going to make with ? It happens to me everytime I buy yarn in a LYS unless it's sock yarn, not too difficult to choose a project after buying. When going throught my yarn I do discover yarn that I have no idea what to make with and it's a little problem when you try to reduce the amount of yarn waiting to be knitted.

 

So in my reduce that stash year, I have more time to think about yarn management and also with my little one on the way I also needed to move my stash from his previous emplacement (now converted from a office/craft room to a girlie baby's room). After 5 months this is how it goes...

New additions :

- 14 skeins of Cascade 220 that I bought myself (3080 yards)

- 2 big balls of Bernat baby sport from my BF (2228 yards)

- a big bag of unknow fiber from my BF (approx 1200 yards)

- 7 balls of Bergère de France Merino from my mother-in-law (798 yards)

- 2 balls of Bernat Cottontots from mother-in-law too (300 yards)

- 2 skeins of wool from Laine douceurs from my BF (860 yards)

- 1 skein of Kiss and Curl (Fleece Artist) from my BF too (547 yards)

total of 9013 yards

and that's all... I made not so bad if I look at what I pay or not, but the 3 last skeins are totally on my head because even if he insist and pay, I did choose the yarn myself and enter in the LYS by myself too !!!

I did use :

- 476 yards for the Trellis toddler sweater

- 626 yards for my February Lady sweater

- 1144 yards for my Tilted for the Olympics

- 93 yards for the Hodge Boy

- 70 yard for the Hodge girl (I made them smaller)

- 303 yards for the Easter's BSJ

- 176 yards for my Rose Red

- 231 yards for my Bird in hand

- 287 yards for the Pea Pod baby set

- 460 yards for my dad's sock

- 363 yards for the Baby girl jacket

- 88 yards for the Aviatrix hat

- 66 yards for the Flakey socks

not counting the WIP I have on needle I used up : 4384 yards so far in 2010

 

 

So if I want to be cold sheep by the end of the year I need to knit at least 4630 yards of FO by the end of 2010 to be reducing my stash...at least with my 3 current project I will used more than 2000 yards so as usual, just keep knitting.

 

Happy knitting dear readers

Mister I do accept your excuses

My lovely and tender boyfriend went on a business trip to Toronto last week and came back soon but with empty hands. It didn't matters to me, it was way more important to have him back in my arms than having any kind of gift but on Saturday he wanted to make apologies for his lack of time to shop on his trip for a little skein of yarn... did I ever mention this man is PERFECT... he think about buying me yarn on a business trip. Even though he hadn't the occasion because he was too short on time...he thought about it.

So we went for a little walk to bakery on Saturday morning and it happen to be next door from a LYS and he bought me 3 fabulous skein of yarn all Canadians products. The first two are from Kamouraska, Quebec. The barn's name is Les laines douceur and it's the first I saw this yarn so I bought 2 skeins one black and a turquoise. They don't have color name and strange weight it will be fun to work with. The third one is from the well known Fleece Artist, Kiss and Curl.

Let just say I am one happy girlfriend !

WIP : summer knitting is HOT

It's not even summer yet, but it's almost the same with the weather of the last 2 weeks here in Quebec city... it's damn hot and hard to keep a big knit on my lap. So I cast on for a light shawl project with the perfect and adorable Malabrigo lace I had bought back in 2008 when my friend Shannon came in visit from Calgary. Part of my "work in that stash" project in 2010 to reduce my stash it will also be a nice addition to my wardrobe too.

I choose the Haruni pattern by Emily Ross, a free pattern.

I love the colors and again with Malabrigo it's love at first touch... soft and so cool to work with even it's still hot in my hand to work with wool.

Anyway, almost done with Chart A, about 16 more rows to go in it and then the fun begin with Chart B... :)

FO: Rose Red

Yes another belated FO...

Spec

Pattern : Rose Red by Ysolda Teague
Needle : 4.5 mm
Yarn : Blue Sky Alpacas 100% Alpaca Sport Weight in Red, approx. 1.6 skein

Cast on April 10th and Cast off April 11th

I loved that quick project, was very fun to see it grow before my eyes... Also the yarn and the pattern were both offered to me in swap I did last year so extra happy to use it and enjoy it ! Yarn was from Amy in the Warm Ewe Up Winter Swap. I knew I had to make myself a little treat and my friend Robyn offered me the pattern in Swap on Budget so I only had to knit it then... :) Super super happy !!! Still have another leftover of yarn that I will please to find an use to.

Little note to myself : buy more of that yarn when I have money to make something else next to skin like a bolero or a scarf...

Also do you like my new hairstyle ? Super short and fun to dry now !!

Day 7 (umm maybe more like day 10...)

Subject for today : talk about a yarn

Ummmmmmm yarn....what kind of knitter I would be if I wasn't yarn addict ? Since my love for knitting grew with the year, my stash also grew in reasonable proportions I think. I am almost cold sheep now (no yarn bought since a certain time for non-knitters). My last purchase was in October 2009 from Knit Picks when my knitting group made an order and I had some needs, like yarn for the sweater of Zachary, my nephew. I was doing great almost 6 months without any addition to my stash...

but last week end, I was visiting a web site that I like and saw they had a sale on Cascade 220 !!! I argue with myself for about 5 minutes and then decided to go smart and choose projects before yarn. I ended spending 85$ for 14 skeins of Cascade 220, no shipping fees. Not bad huh ?

Here a little proof of my new babies

The 2 others colors are saved for a vest for me (bright pink and dark brown) after I am back to my normal weight, I am too big now with my preggo belly/body to take measurements anyway ...

The green yarn will be for a Central Park Hoodie for me

and the purple for a Seed Stitch Baby Jacket for my daughter

and I know since my last uses of Cascade products why they are loved so much by knitters : they come in many many colors, they are affordables, easy to knit, easy to wash and they stay well shaped and in good conditions even after wash. They are also super good to felt.

FO : Easter'S baby surprise jacket

Yes I did the most classic baby's sweater for my daughter... but so cute and modern colors I couldn't resist. Most of all I was dying to try out the yarn I received from my swap parthner in South Africa and also the uber cute buttons inclosed in the swap package too !!!

Here are the spec of my Easter pleasure...

Pattern : Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yarn : directly from South Africa (I called it my world cup project because of it... lol) Bambi Yarn from Vinnis colours made of 70% Organic cotton and 30% Bamboo. 3 colorway : the bright orange is Tangerine, the yellow is Sunshine and the red is Tomato. Yarn is perfect for baby knitting and I would totally came back from South Africa with a full trunk of local products if they are so cool and well made.

Needle : 4 mm

Size : This is the charm of this pattern : the yarn and needles you used made the size of the pattern, with a Dk weight and 4mm needles is says that the sweater will be about 9 months in size, which is about true in my case when I check on other pieces of clothing I have. Hopefully it will fit my daughter next winter...

The other super cute feature are the buttons star-shaped made by hands by south african woman too... really if baby wasn't planned for July, I would book my vacation over there to discover this wonderful country and buy a bunch of local products...for now I will follow up the Football World Cup with my love and find some place on Internet to restock on those cool yarn and buttons... :)

Last detail about my FO : machine washable and unisex so our next creation will also be able to wear it...

FO : Trellis, well not really a Trellis but a cute toddler sweater...

Yes done done and done with my modified version of Trellis by Britta Stolfus Rueschhoff avalaible on Knitty Spring 2005 for free.

Before showing my version of the thing.... let me show the "real" one as by designer

Here we are, cute cardigan with buttons and everything.

But here is what I done with that inspiration :

a sweater with buttons on shoulder to accomodate head easily and also not the real sleeves neither.

Here are the spec of that little creation (with lot of work...)

Original pattern : Trellis by Britta Stolfus Rueschhoff

Needles : 4.5mm

Yarn : Knit Picks Swish Worsted in color Marine Heather, about 4.33 balls

Size : 18 months

Mods... be take a confortable seat because there are a lot of them;

First,

BACK === I did add 6 rows of seed sts on the right side before binding off to be able to reinforce the shoulder and accomodate the buttons later.

FRONT === since I didn't wanted a cardigan but a sweater, I followed the instructions for the back again until the armholes decreases; after binding off 13sts on each side(armholes) I did continue to work in pattern as set for 15 more rows ending with a RS row. Work 22 sts, BO 3, knit in pattern til the end of the row. Nezt 17 rows, I decrease one at the neck edging every other row. Then BO all and right front is done. Do about the same thing on the other side. At the end, I add 3 rows of seed stich then work 2 buttons holes and knit 2 others rows in seed sts and after BO all. Front is now done.

SLEEVES === CO 39 sts as set in pattern. Work 20 rows in seed sts. Then, add one sts at beginning and ending of the row every 12 rows (7 times). While doing those instructions also add the biggest cable from Chart A in the middle of the sleeve. After last increase row, work 5 more rows in seed sts and BO.

After just have to sew every pieces together.

At the shoulder, I did sew the extra rows of seed stich on the shoulder and sew buttons on for reinforcement.

Note : I also decide not to add any other collar because anyway it doesn't show a lot and it's clean like that. About the yarn I choose : I may buy myself a whole truck since I love it so much !!! it's soft and superwash, what else can I ask for ?

Yeah ! done and I will send it by mail to his little owner, my nephew Zachary.

Last swap of the year

Just received my last swap package of the year... but not the least fun ! I was again in Faves things swap (round 5 now) and I was matched with a pal from South Africa !!! Rozan did an amazing job spoiling me and I am so lucky to have her as a swap pal :)

She sent me gorgeous things very local for her : a shopping tote (I love the handle), 2 cards of buttons handmaidens by south African women, 4 balls of Vinnis Bambi cotton yarn (!!!), a South African calendar, chai black and green tea and ....

a wonderful pair of fingerless gloves in a soft soft, very soft yarn and look at the color !!! Little something in the picture above... did you see that I am poiting out South Africa ? :)

FO : Habitat

Oh yes I am way behind on blogging and since I am constantly out of home for many reason it's hard to keep up...

So here is my latest creation :

Pattern : Habitat by Jared Flood
Yarn : Malabrigo Merino Worsted in color Azul Profondo 150
Needle : 4mm and 5mm

Cast on September 20th and cast off September 26th
Mods : none

Comments : I love love love love, adore and love again the yarn !!! Why didn't I knit before with Malabrigo ? It's now my favorite yarn ever ! It's soft, fun to knit and the colors are gorgeous, did I say that I LOVE Malabrigo ? ;)

On the serious side : pattern.... Jared Flood is a genius with cables and did a great job designing this hat. The S/M size is too short to cover my ear but that's ok because I will use it mostly in fall season here and in Swiss this winter so not too cold. I was planning to do a M/L for the Man but I think it will be a bit short because he have a bigger head than me. If I do I will use a color that both suit us to be sure... And I am so happy to finally had knit a hat for ME and no one else ! :)

What about a close-up on the cable to finish ?

Thursday night knitting

Oh yes it's finally week end for me !!! I had a big week and a very great week end before but I am so glad that it's over and well behind me now... I recently booked my vacation for Riviera Maya and we are leaving in only 3 weeks from now.... I am so excited and I did not even start to think about knitting for the vacation... Really have to take note about that I can't go to a vacation resort for 2 weeks without yarn and needles ;)

Here is a little picture of me playing on the "Muse" statue in Carre D'Youville in Vieux Quebec...


On the knitting side I put the sock on the side for another project that I just bought at the new LYS next door to my place : Thrum mitten kit by Fleece Artist. I really enjoy the project and I knit the first mitten straight in one day and I had almost no time to knit on the second one this week and I am almost done now. That how quick those mittens are !

Here is how the kit look like when I first brought it home. I paid 29$ for the kit, including yarn, roving and the pattern. It's ok since I will use pattern again for sure.

Then I did not stop to take any picture until earlier today. You can see the first mitten all done in the back, the roving left to put in thrums in the second mitten and my wip on the second mitten.

You can see the needle holding live stitches for the thumb placement later but I kept on knitting before coming here to talk about it. I already told you but it's really addictive when you are knitting thrums !! :)

Winter be ready, 'coz I am now !