Ketchup . . .

Well, it seems we are long over-due for some ketchup catch-up.  Although I suppose you don’t relish the fact that this post is peppered with lame little puns.

As you mayo may not know, I’ve been buying much more yarn than I’ve been knitting lately.  But at least I have finished one project.

I started these in August so I could complete a quick pair of socks for the Sock a Month knit-along.  The fact that they ended up taking me three months to knit really rubbed salt into my knitting wounds!

Little Pansy Socks (pattern is my own)
Cast On: August 2010
Completed: 14 November 2010
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Fixation Spray Dyed/Effects
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) DPNs

Now that this honey of a project is off the needles, I can move on to knitting some of the new yarns I bought at the fall fiber festivals.  But don’t worry, we can ketchup on those in another post. 

Gloves and Mittens . . .

Yesterday, Mom and I did something we've been wanting to do for quite a while.  We went to visit my great-aunt Stella, my grandmother's sister.  The love of knitting runs through my family, from Grammy and Aunt Stella to me.  I don't ever remember Grammy not having a WIP in her knitting basket and she knit every night while watching TV.  Even after more than eight years, I have her last project, still on the needles, just as she left it when she passed.  Aunt Stella is just as good a knitter as her sister was.  I'll always regret that I didn't take up knitting until after Grammy was gone.  But you might remember that Aunt Stella gave me my first knitting advice (sort of) when I was just starting out.

So yesterday, I picked out some of my best projects and we headed over for a visit.  She inspected my Olympic Hat, Sunrise Circle, Clapotis, Hypoteneuse and Kiri closely.  And to my surprise, she was quite impressed!  She admitted to always looking for mistakes when she looks at other people's knitting, but she couldn't find any in mine.  (Although I know if she looked harder she would have found plenty.)  We had a lovely afternoon chatting about knitting, crocheting and other non-fibery topics (so my mom wouldn't feel left out - because in my family, the knit-love skips a generation).  And look what she gave me!!

An old, errr "vintage", book of mitten and glove patterns.  According to the cover, you can "knit and crochet for the entire family".  Did you get a look at the price.  Thirty-five cents!  Funny, huh?  It's true that some patterns are timeless.  I've fallen in love with this one and am definitely going to give it a try.

It seems so cool to me how some things change but so many things don't.  Aunt Stella could never have dreamed of the knitting apps I have on my iPhone.  But a knitting booklet that is easily older than I am still has patterns today's knitter would want to knit.  It really is a timeless art.  Although some patterns?  Some patterns are best left behind . . .

I joked to my mom that I'd be knitting these up for her birthday gift - but truth be told, this pattern will never see my needles.  Those freaking scary clowns remind me of something out of a Stephen King novel!!

Back into the Blogiverse

My goodness, I certainly didn't intend to be away for so long. In the past week I finished my first web design class and started my second. I battled a horrid headache (maybe a migraine??) for two days. I worked on getting my last little domain problem ironed out (now if you forgot to put the "www" in front of mostlyselftaughtknitter.com you get a nifty little redirect page that will shoot you over to the blog. You can try it here, but don't blink because it should go pretty quick). I finally got my domain e-mail up and running - hopefully I haven't jinxed it now! Of course, I've spend many, many hours on Ravelry putting my stuff in (you were all right, it's SO addictive). And Pea is on vacation, so we've been trying to do some fun stuff. Whew, I'm tired just typing it!!

But I am back, and hoping you will forgive me. I have been knitting a little. In fact, I've got my little footies done!!

Little Pansy Socks
Cast On: 30 May 2007
Completed: 21 June 2007
Yarn: Cascade Fixation, Colorway 9518
Needles: Clover Bamboo US4 (3.5mm) DPNs

These were very simple socks, just 1 1/2 inches of ribbing, the Eye of the Partridge heel, and the foot. I love how they came out though. And they only took one ball of Cascade Fixation . . . with a mere three yards left. Talk about good yarn management. I named them Little Pansy Socks because the colorway reminds me of pansies. I plant my pansies when it's just starting to warm up, but still to cold for other flowers. And I'm wearing the socks when it's just starting to become too warm for wool socks, but still too cold for no socks!

I'm not sure I would call what I did "writing a pattern", but a couple of you were kind enough to ask for it. So I've written it up, and thank you so much for your interest!! I've posted a link on the sidebar to my new pattern page. If you are interested, click on over and download the pdf. And please, be sure to let me know if you have any problems!!

6 ° Mittens

When we last left off, I was on my exciting jaunt with Christine. But there was much more fun (and yarn) in store for the weekend. On Friday, Pea and I packed up for a little get-away in upstate Connecticut. It was his Christmas present and I was glad the winter had been mild, because he loves to go hiking when we're away.

Of course, I'm run by Murphy's Law, so it was no surprise that this weekend brought the coldest weather we've seen all year. Although we didn't let it spoil our weekend, hiking was definitely out!! Also out were my Fetching mitts. When it's 6 degrees, bare fingers just don't cut it.

Luckily, there happened to be a couple of great yarn stores in the area, The Village Sheep and Enchanting Yarns & Things. We set out on a quest for yarn and a pattern for mittens. The yarn was an easy choice when I fell in love with some beautiful Manos del Uruguay. I'd never knit with this yarn before, but had heard great things about it. I sure wasn't disappointed!!

When I started to look for a pattern, a funny thought hit me. Maybe I didn't need a pattern. Mittens are pretty basic, right? I've knit tons of socks and a few Fetchings. How different can a pair of mittens be? So armed with my new Manos, some DPNs, a tape measure and a note-pad, I created these!!

6 ° Mittens
Cast On: January 26, 2007
Completed: January 28, 2007
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay, colorway 105
Needles: Inox US8 DPN's

I had such a good time writing my little pattern for these mittens. They knit up in a flash, and I was extra proud that I took the time to work out my own pattern !! I certainly have no aspirations of become a knitting designer, but I've typed up this little pattern in case any of you would like to try it! Click here for pdf file. I'll link it in my sidebar too. And if you knit it up, please let me know what you think. I'd love to see a picture of your mittens!!

Knit-Knack Pouch

Okay, I thought I would be the only one impressed with my little pouch, but thank you Miss McSpazzitron for taking such an interest. Here's what I did.

I knit it in one long piece with eyelet rows on either end. First four rows were done in ST ST, but I wish I had done Seed or even Garter to give it more of a trim. Fifth row was K2, *YO,K2tog,K1* to last two stitches, K2. Then continue ST ST until desired length. Repeat eyelet row. Four rows in stitch used for trim, BO. (I know, not the best description, but it's my first attempt at writing a pattern).

Fold in half, the fold becomes the bottom of the pouch. I took the lazy way out and just put the right sides together and whip stitched the two sides, then turned it right side out. I thought about an I-cord tie or something fancy, but since it's such a small pouch and again I was lazy, I just used black ribbon I had on hand.

That's it!! And thanks for putting up with my corny project name as well.