Christmas Lights

I finished my little Just In Case It's Freakishly Warm Again on Christmas Day Sweater!  Since that's kind of a mouthful, I've been calling it Christmas Lights, since that's what the knitted fabric reminds me of - pictures of Christmas Lights, particularly when the lights aren't in focus.  This is knit in Malabrigo Mechita in Atomic and Hollyhock.

I made a few changes to the pattern (Lounging Top, Fingering).  I didn't measure the lower body in time, so there are no short rows and instead of a garter stitch edging, I did ribbing.  Then I went back to the arm holes (which I had just worked in Stockinette, not in the edging as the pattern directed) and picked up and knit a little bit for a tiny sleeve.  I edged the sleeves and neckline using the more solid Hollyhock colorway, working a scalloped crochet edging. 

I'm very happy with this little top and I think it will work well for anytime it's freakishly warm, but I still want to feel like I'm dressed for Fall and Winter.  Texas is funny that way sometimes!

There's A Reason For This

Caleb has been moved into his apartment and is settling into it, the campus, and College Station.  The Stunt Noodle kitty was quite a hit and he has enough blankets to be ready to build a blanket fort at a moment's notice.  Mickael and I are settling into a quieter house, although Mr. Noodle is taking up some of the slack by walking around screaming, looking for Caleb.  (He's seen Caleb go to school before.  He knows this happens.  He still always walks around looking for him, starting in the obvious places, and then looking behind doors and under furniture, just in case.)

I've been working on a sweater to fill a gap in my wardrobe that I didn't know I had until Christmas of 2021.  Let me explain.  This past Christmas we woke up to 80 degree temperatures.  Living in in Texas, we all have clothes for these temperatures, but it was Christmas day.  None of us had clothes for that kind of heat that were Christmas appropriate, and while we were running the air conditioner, no one would have been comfortable in long sleeves or sweaters.  Mickael and Caleb and the rest of the men didn't worry about it, they just put on short sleeve polo shirts and went on with their day.  I tried on four or five different things, and at this point I don't remember what I ended up wearing, but figuring out what to wear was difficult.  When our guests arrived for Christmas dinner, I found out that Mom, my Mother-in-Law, and my Sister-In-Law all had exactly the same problem!

I realized that I needed a short sleeved sweater so I could look Christmas Festive while not dying of heat stroke at the same time.  This is the reason for this sweater.  I won't only wear it for Christmas, but I'll be ready if we have another Christmas heat wave.  The pattern is the Lounging Top and I'm knitting it in Malabrigo Mechita in Atomic.  The knitted fabric reminds me of photos of Christmas lights that are blurred and out of focus.  The fade from dark to light is just the different part of the hand dyed skeins.  I think it's going to get dark again towards the lower body.  I might add some little sleeves (I'll see how it looks once I'm finished) and I've got a contrast solid I plan to use for the neckline and sleeve edging, so I haven't been working the sleeve edges as the pattern directs - I've kept them in stockinette.

I'm past the upper body where the short rows, neck and armhole shaping are, so I'm just knitting around and around in circles.  Not the most exciting knitting, but it's exactly what my brain needs right now.

One More Blanket

Earlier this Summer, when I decided to make Caleb a crocheted throw, I decided to make him a throw sized quilt as well.  I planned a super simple design and I thought flannel would be perfect for it.  I used the Mammoth Flannels from Robert Kaufman for his quilt because they come in a huge range of plaids and solids, and they're really thick, substantial flannels.  (This is the same flannel line that I chose to back the king size log cabin quilt I showed you a couple of weeks ago.)

As far as the quilt design goes, I didn't make quilt blocks, but just used the width of fabric (once I had removed the selvedges) to figure out how long I wanted the center section.  Then I added the striped mitered borders.  I used maroon and cream (I feel like you might have seen this color combination before?) for the inner borders and then added a wide border of the gray and the finished quilt top reminds me of vintage football and rugby uniforms.

At this point I sent the quilt and backing (more flannel, a black and gray plaid this time) to the longarm quilter to be quilted.  I asked her for a watery looking quilting design as a nod to his Oceanography major, and we ended up picking one called Undertow.  It reminds me of whirlpools as well as raindrops on a lake or ocean.  When I sent it to her, I wasn't sure if I would get it back before he left for school, but it arrived Tuesday morning.  I had already made the binding, so after trimming up the quilt I was able to get the binding sewn onto the front side before lunchtime.  By bedtime Tuesday night I had hand stitched the binding over the edge, on the back side and it was finished!  I got these photos and yesterday he walked around with the quilt draped over his head and wrapped around himself most of the day.  He has declared that it is just the right amount of cozy.

The finished quilt is bigger than the crocheted throw, but I figure the crocheted throw will be useful at his desk chair since it should be small enough not to get caught in the wheels while the quilt can be used on his bed for naps, or either one could be used on the sofa.  However he decides to use them, he'll have enough to make a nice blanket fort too!

Have a great weekend!  I've got to get everything gathered up and packed so we can haul it down to College Station in a few days.  I've got sticky note lists all over the house right now!

A Stunt Double

A year ago Caleb was about to begin a Micro Paleontology course, so I made him a Tiny Dinosaur.  This fall's classes don't really lend themselves as obviously to specific mascots so I made him a Stunt Noodle.  The Stunt Noodle is a versatile helper, ready to offer assistance with all subjects in a less chaotic way than the original, back home.  Also, there is no pet deposit with the Stunt Noodle.  

Caleb has no idea that I made the Stunt Noodle and I've hidden it, packed with his stuff.  When we move him into his apartment I will set it out on his desk and surprise him with it.  I can't tell you how many times I just started giggling as I was crocheting him and I think Caleb will get a kick out him.

The pattern is Toby the Siamese Cat, but I've obviously adjusted colors to match Mr. Noodle, the original.  The main body color is Squoosh Fiberarts Beefcake Sock in Mocha.  The dark points (face, ears, tail, and paws) are Cascade Heritage Sock in 5609 Bark.  I also used a tiny bit of Madelinetosh Twist Light in Kitten for his inner ears, whiskers, and tummy.  I used regular, round eyes instead of cat eyes because when he (the Original Noodle) does the Crazy Eyes, right before the does the Crazy Things, his eyes are round.  Caleb knows the expression well.

Hopefully, the Stunt Noodle will add a welcome taste of home to Caleb's first apartment, as he starts his first semester at College Station!

A Finished Hat!

My concern for Keeping Caleb Warm when he's away from home continues.  Never mind that College Station, Texas isn't really known for Arctic temperatures and February of 2021 was a freakish occurrence in Texas history, I'm going to do everything I can to keep him warm.  Fortunately, he likes blankets and is always appreciative of handknits, so he's at least indulgent of my crazy, and who doesn't love a good blanket fort?

So I knit him a Musselburgh hat.  I used Dream in Color Smooshy With Cashmere in Bermuda Teal which is a color that Caleb wears well.  I also figure it will work with his black, gray, and navy jackets and coats. This pattern is a fun one.  You start at the top crown and just start knitting.  Once you have enough stitches to check your gauge you can look at the pattern and get the rest of the directions.  The pattern is written to knit a lining, but you could easily just work a single layer hat as well.  This one is lined since I knit it in fingering weight yarn.

Have a great weekend!

A Finished Blanket!

I finished Caleb's Aggie Stripes blanket!  This was a fun project, perfect for brainless TV watching, and he was happy about it when I gave it to him.  I followed the directions for the Attic 24 Granny Stripe blanket, but I used my own stripe pattern- seven stripes of gray, one of maroon.  Just a note, this pattern is written using UK terms.  Switching to US terms isn't a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.  By the time you've worked a few stripes you'll have memorized the pattern and the terms won't matter.

I used Cascade 220 Superwash in 1946 Silver Gray for the main color and 879 Very Berry for the Maroon.  I actually tried to match the maroon from the Texas A&M website as closely as I could, and I'm happy with it.  The colors in the photos for today's post are the closest I've gotten as far as accuracy goes.  For the edging, I followed the pattern directions for a round of granny pattern, but then I worked one round of single crochet to finish it off.  I didn't want anything too fussy for a border, but I wanted to finish it off nicely.  The finished blanket is 48 inches x 55 inches, which is a nice size to sit under on a sofa or a desk chair.  Caleb has already given it a spin while online gaming the other night.

Of course, the second I finished taking the first two photos and measured the finished blanket, the Quality Control Cat went to work.  He burrowed right under there and fell asleep until dinner time.  It was good to know that the blanket was working properly before I gave it to Caleb!

More Quilting

Last time I showed you this quilt I was ready to put borders on it.  I sat down with the fabrics leftover from piecing the blocks and started playing.  After trying several different things and nothing being quite right I finally realized that this quilt wanted light colored borders.  Once I realized that it was easy!  

I decided to do a narrow border of the dark red I used in the center of the log cabin blocks and then do a second, wide border.  I didn't have enough of a single fabric to use for all four sides, so I decided to use two different fabrics and a third for corner squares.  The quilt top uses so many different fabrics in each block -seventeen to be exact- that I thought this approach would work, and I'm very happy with it!  (Also, this photo was taken before it had its final pressing, sorry about the wrinkles.)

I can't remember if I mentioned the small throw the other day, but when I made the blocks for the king size quilt I made a few extras.  I ended up having enough for a throw size quilt, so that needed borders too.  That one did get dark borders, and since I set the log cabin blocks on point (diagonally instead of square for you non-quilters out there), I did mitered corners.

Finally, I had to decide on backings.  The last time we talked about this the question was "To Flannel or Not To Flannel?"

I decided the answer was both!  The plaid you see in the background is the backing for the king size bed quilt.  It's Robert Kaufman Mammoth Flannel (which are really wonderful flannels if you've never used them).  The folded gray floral is the backing for the throw quilt and it's just regular quilting cotton.

I was able to get both tops and backings finished yesterday and they are somewhere between north Texas and Colorado now!  Have a good weekend!

Moving backwards

I was working along on my Cabled Yoke cardigan, and I was a couple of inches into the lower body section when I realized that something didn't look right.  I tried it on and decided it just wasn't working.  There was something funny about the shaping of the whole thing and it wasn't going to fit right.  The top cabled section was really pretty, but if the fit isn't there it's going to feel funny, which means I won't wear it.

I frogged it!  Unraveled the whole thing.  I'll find another pattern to use with that yarn.