Pattern: Daphne's Baby Cape from Knit 2 Together
For: Baby Jeep Woohoo
Yarn: 720 yds (4 skeins) Knit One Crochet Too 2nd Time Cotton in Borealis
Needles: US size 6 Knit Picks Options
Buttons: 4 from my stash, originally purchased from the random button bin at Vogue Fabrics on Roosevelt
Timeline: started 04.19.2008; finished 05.04.2008

Unfortunately, this post is going to start out with a complaint: the yarn requirements are WAY off for this pattern. The pattern states that 660 yds will be needed, but I needed every last bit of the 720 yds that I had, even though I skipped 18 (long) rows, the hood, and the loopy fringe option.

Why, yes...I do have baby-sized shoulders. Why do you ask?
That said, I think this came out really cute. I improvised a collar that can be flipped up or down, which is still dramatic enough. This thing is pretty huge, so it could be used as a baby blanket, too, if needed. Plus, considering the fact that it fits me, the baby should be able to wear it for quite a while.

The 2nd Time Cotton was nice to work with and a nicely-priced alternative if the organic cottons are a bit too expensive and you don't want to purchase conventional cotton yarns. I knit a lot of this during my first day at Yarn School, and really felt the effects of knitting a cotton/acrylic blend for hours the following day. Oddly enough, my hands and wrists didn't bother me, but my biceps felt like they'd had a tough workout.

It looks like it is starting to happen again...









I need some green yarn!!! Or yellow! Or blue! Even black, gray or white would work!

At least three of them are gifts.

Well, they're definitely too small. I noticed it about an inch in, but did I stop? No. I even tried it on (It was a struggle, let me tell you!) and knew it was too tight. Did I stop then? No. When did I stop? When I finished the whole leg! HAHAHAHHAHAHAA! Ahem...

So, yeah...this will be frogged and reknit, probably on 2.75 mm needles. This version was knit on (the recommended, but I'm using less smooshy yarn and I'm a tight knitter) 2.25s. Oh, and I can't find my 2.50 mm DPNs. Anyone seen them? The last project I knit on them were my bright orange socks, but I finished those up in February. I wish I were organized.

Well, I frogged my "walking socks" today. I tried it on late last week and the yarn (Froehlich Wolle Special Blauband) just isn't nice or interesting enough to work in mindless stockinette. Oh, well...I'm thinking of pairing it with some black yarn (Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock) that I have and making some striped knee-highs.

I also finished frogging the last big of my Dogwood Donna yarn. I still have the intarsia flower and a bit more on the side, since Nadine said she'd sew me a lining and put a zipper in it so that I'll have a little pouch. It's felted already, so I don't have anything else to do for it. Kind of an FO, kind of a WIP.

In FO-related news, I finished a baby cape that I was working on. The buttons are sewn on and everything! I just need to take some good pictures of it and it'll will be ready to send out. Oh, and apparently I have baby shoulders, since it fits me!

And finally...

I cast on for a new pair of socks for myself. I'm a bit worried that they're knitting up too small, but I seem to be getting the correct gauge for the pattern.

So...remember my grand stash plans?

05.01.2008
Stash: 19,036.90 (up 2,822.20)
To Swap/Sell: 3,758.60 (down 12,722.60)
Overall: 22,795.50 (down 9,900.40)

So...not too bad. I have bought A LOT of yarn over the past four months, mostly for gifts, but definitely for stuff for me, too. A few yarns keep moving back and forth between my stash and stuff I want to swap/sell, so I think the total number is what I really need to keep an eye on.

I've definitely been knitting quite a bit and finishing a lot of items. There are a lot of gifts, so 3 of them haven't been blogged yet, but I've finished up 4,949.10 yds. Not too shabby.

I don't have an "ideal" for how big I want my stash to be at the moment. If I can just get through all of the things I want to have done by the end of the summer* and manage not to buy any other yarn until Stitches Midwest in August, I'll be very, very, very happy. Wish me luck!

*Baby Cape (720 yds), Walking Socks (450 yds), Wedding Capelet v. 1.0 (250 yds), John's Sweater (2420 yds), Final Wedding Capelet (520 yds), Nadine's Shawl (1148 yds)...Total = 5508 yds

Pattern: Cable Footies from One Skein
For: me
Yarn: 128 yds Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted in 7009 (left over from Auntie Helen's Birthday Shawl)
Needles: US size 7 Knit Picks Options
Timeline: started 04.19.2008; finished 04.21.2008

Yeah, what can I say? If I like a pattern and it knits up quickly, I'll probably make it more than once. Nothing much to report here. Yay for using up some stash and making some little socks to wear at Yarn School. We had a lot of cold weather, so they were definitely needed.

Hello! We are fraternal twins. :)