It was easy after all

Yes, my dears. That up there, looking so familiar, is the crocheted version of the Baby Surprise Jacket. I did it. The entire credit goes to James G Davis (Pandaman) who worked out a stockinette version, upon which mine is totally based. The stockinette gauge is closer to the sc gauge than garter, so Mr Davis’ version was perfect for this. I don’t know why I didn’t do it this way the first time. All I had to do was use sc for every stitch and decide how I wanted to make my increases and decreases. I chose to increase by doing 2 sc in two stitches (an increase of 2), and my decreases by sc3tog (hook through next stitch, yo, pull loop through 3 times, yo and pull loop through all 4 loops on hook). Next time I might change my increases to 3 sc in one stitch. And use some interesting colours instead of this pale pink.

I don’t know why, but I always seem to gravitate towards the same colours for babies. Sigh. It could also be that these are the only colours there are, so it’s not as if I’m faced with a wide choice, not if I don’t want to produce glow-in-the-dark baby clothes. Which I don’t.

Here are the particulars (here’s my Ravelry page):

Yarn: Standard issue baby acrylic, about 150gm or so.

Hook: Size 5.00mm (US H). I went up a size or two from my first attempt, in order to conquer the obvious gauge problem. I made a conscious effort to make the starting chain loose (mine usually tends to be tight) and was immediately rewarded by a gratifyingly right-angled beginning.

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket (link to knitwiki article), aided and abetted by Pandaman’s Stockinette modifications.

Time: I began my first attempt a while ago, as you will remember, and actually started this one a few days ago. Then I got caught up in testing a couple of patterns, doing some work (my job) and distracted by other things, so the project languished a bit. I finally told myself off and picked it up again and resolved not to be distracted this time. The endless rows of sc do begin to pall after a while, which sort of explains why I’d like to do it in a different sort of yarn the next time. And when I grow up, I’d like to try manipulating the gauge for other stitches, starting with dc perhaps. A couple of evenings to finish this normally.

Size: 22″ around.

Extra #1 What can I say? It’s a bit anti-climactic, realising the solution was easy after all, I just had been overthinking things a bit.

#2 I must have counted every stitch on every inc/dec row. I didn’t use markers (because I find stitch markers in crochet to be tedious) and spreading the increases out over 2 stitches made it a bit more tiresome than it needed to be. I don’t know why, when I’d been sc3tog-ing for a decrease, it didn’t occur to me to do 3sc in 1 for an increase! I was fooled by the knitting, where it’s usual to only increase one stitch at a time (unless you’re yo-ing or casting on, and end up with holes). Took me until I was writing down my notes to realise it doesn’t have to be that way, crochet is so much more flexible in that sense.

#3 I added some length to the sleeves after finishing the main part, because they were looking really stubby. I went to the edges and did a few rows of sc on the other side of the starting chain, then decreased stitches twice before ending off.

#4 Not entirely happy with the collar (it could still be added to, but I don’t think I will).

#5 There isn’t a girl baby in sight who’d require warm clothing, but I do have one earlier victim who’s a bit small despite being a year old. She’ll do.

I’m not resting on my laurels, having begun two other projects-one of them is yet again a baby sweater, and the other a dishcloth. And yes, I’ll name them among my FOs. That’s for Sara. If I didn’t count my small projects, I’d have no projects at all.

Quick and easy

Since Ravelry, I am not being strictly chronological with my posts of FOs, or even complete, sometimes. I just blog about whichever project takes my fancy, when I have the time and the inclination. This one happens to be my latest finished thing and I really am proud of it, so here it is.

I caught this on the patterns page at Ravelry (I look through the latest projects added every now and then) and saw it was a free pattern, and was in fact currently running as a KAL, with the designer posting installments on her blog. In browsing through my stash I’d turned up this yarn which I didn’t know what it was when I got it from Celtic Coyote in a Knitty swap many months ago. She didn’t remember either, but then Sara was working on a BSJ with similar yarn some time ago and I discovered it is actually Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted, plus I was able to find some colourway names on Yarndex as well. I had 6 half skeins or so, and for this project I used up about 3.5.

(Looking through the photos, I just realised I didn’t take a picture of the back, but seriously, I don’t think it matters. It matches the front up to the armholes, and then it’s mostly similar.)

Here are the particulars (here’s my Ravelry page):

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted in several colours and half skeins. It feels a bit dry and rough and I don’t know how it will feel in a colder climate or next to the skin. Perhaps it softens with washing? I liked watching the striping, mostly because the pattern is stockinette-dominated. Besides, each colour runs for a fairly long length. I usually love variegated yarn in the skein and despise it worked up. But this worked for a small diameter project. Having so many different colours also meant I could use different colourways without too much weirdness. (The sleeves don’t fully match, but I can live with that).

Needles: I used about 3-4 US #10 (6.00mm) circulars, and one US #8 (5.00mm). That was because I was too lazy to hunt up a stitch holder for the body. For the sleeves, I did both at the same time from different ends of the same ball, because I wanted them to largely match, which they wouldn’t if I had used two different balls. So that required two circulars at the same time, but not with both on one, if you see what I mean. I used one circular for one sleeve. I could possibly have simplified matters with only one circular to work both, but somehow that didn’t occur to me :-p Luckily I seem to have a surfeit of the 6.00 mm and nearby sizes.

Pattern: Waffles for Brunch by Jean Gifford. Here’s the Ravelry page. I probably might make this again.

Time: Over a week, but that was only because I took a break to (a) edit 15 files and (b) test 6 patterns (5 of which were small thread motifs). I got in on the KAL about halfway, but I was able to finish more or less quite quickly after the last instructions were posted. As I indicated, it’s a quick and easy knit.

Uh-oh. Thunder in the background. Hopefully the electricity won’t go.

Size: 19″at the chest, unstretched, 12″ long. As the designer says, it’ll fit some kid somewhere.

Extra #1 I loved doing this! Even loved the extra effort needed to match the stripes (or at least ensure they weren’t too odd/off). As usual, it a bit of on-the-edge knitting whether I’d have enough yarn (the other two half-skeins are pale pink and yellow, while these ones can still be useful for a boy, right?), but that was okay in the end.

#2 I’m very kicked with myself…I did a tubular cast on for this and even though that is usually recommended for 1×1 ribbing, it was okay for this one. It would be a problem with a more monochromatic yarn, though. I found this tutorial via Ravelry and it made the process very clear. I did try to match it with a tubular cast-off at the end of the sleeves, but couldn’t quite grasp it, besides which it involves grafting, which I’m not very good at. Also, the instructions were again for ribbing, not this 4×2 pattern.

#3 Very happy :-D. I don’t exactly know who is going to be favoured with this, as most of my friends have young boys, but I don’t think this is too girly. Do you?

#4 I really am very happy with how the collar worked out, too. The designer (and/or the pattern) made it easy when it came to picking up stitches (none of the “pick up eleventy stitches evenly around the neck” business). It’s the first time I’ve worked a collar like this and I really am pleased with the outcome.

It’s raining now. I’ll leave you with a picture of the cast-on to admire. (There isn’t a particular reason i’m not replying individually to comments, just plain laziness. I might just go to my inbox and catch up now, so don’t be puzzled by any replies you get to comments you made when you were a good deal younger ;-))

Always me too.

Even as a child I was a jealous and capricious pest. And that hasn’t altered one bit with passing years. So naturally when I saw that some of my friends had got together to make some lovely pineapple soap sachets, I had to make one too. I had this soap from Ruth lying around, but it was round, so I searched for and found a round pattern. Used some scraps of thread and a satin ribbon, and hey presto…Even if it isn’t as pretty as the ones my friends made. Unfortunately that’s a lesson that I never learned, that imitation is possible, but not always successful.

Here you go.

I am deliberately posting small pictures so you won’t see the wonkiness. Aren’t I clever?

And the specs. My Ravelry page is here.

Thread: Apna Anchor size 20

Hook: Pony handled steel hook 1.00mm. This is fast becoming my favourite thread hook.

Pattern: Round Soap Sachet by Priscilla Hewitt.

Time: A couple of hours. Seriously.

Size: 3″across

Extra #1 Nothing much. I’ve said it all.

This one’s EZ

and so was the predictable pun, sorry!

It is of course, the February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann from her Knitter’s Almanac. I found the book available on an Indian website and so I ordered it. I wasn’t sure I would get it, because some crochet book I ordered on a site once never got to me. The order was simply cancelled, because the book was out of stock. I don’t remember what it was. But after waiting for 6 weeks (and periodically checking the status of my order), I finally got it last Monday. I had to cast on immediately, of course because it was for this pattern I ordered the book in the first place! I had yarn left over from my Waffle Vest. Now that yarn is greyish blue while this pattern is a lace pattern, but I wasn’t too concerned about gender correctness. Nor do I have a target/victim in mind for it.

I was finished knitting by Friday although I must confess I still haven’t sewn on the buttons…they were a present from Cordi (hi, how’s the hibernation?), but did not photograph well. They are small bunnies (pinkish, but again, no gender concerns Chez Fife).

Here are the specs in the time-honoured format.

Yarn: The same acrylic that I used for my Waffle Vest. Regular baby yarn. About sport weight, I should think.

Needles: Unknown silvery circulars in 4mm (US 6). I think Heide gave me these. I really like them and they’re probably my most-used size/pair. The only issue is that the cable tends to curve in on itself, but that is manageable. Perhaps a spot of hot water treatment is called for?

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann’s February Baby Sweater on Two Needles (Ravelry link) from her Knitter’s Almanac (scroll down).

Time: 5 days (I dithered about sewing the seams and did a bad job anyway at the end)

Size: 21″ at the chest, 10.5″ long

Extra #1 I was surprised at the slimness of the book. I suppose I should have expected it from my copy of Knitting Without Tears (an amazing book sale find).

#2 The instructions for the sleeves puzzled me. I was first confused whether to cast on the extra 7 stitches on either side or not, but realised I should. Then when it came to picking up stitches to continue for the body, I confused myself about how to pick them up! I got the cast on stitches twisted, before realising that the extreme ends should be together, therefore you start picking up from the side of the cast on which is closer to the older stitches. Does that make any sense at all? It would probably help if you seamed the sleeves first, or if you did them in the round, thus eliminating the beginning of cast-on/end of cast-on confusion altogether

#3 My finishing as usual is horrendous, although I have improved the area under the armpits somewhat from how it looks in the picture. My picking up stitches for the body under the sleeves was also pretty bad.

#4 The lace pattern was extremely easy to memorise. Perhaps next time I shall actually challenge myself (imagine!) and choose another 7-stitch lace pattern. If there is a next time.

#5 I think this is the most beautiful thing I have ever knit for a baby. (In the intent, if not in the execution).

______

Thank you everyone for the encouragement on my attempts at crochetising the BSJ. I have sent the project into temporary hibernation prior to what I realise must be inevitable ripping. Sigh. A friend is working with me on it and seems to be making better progress. I am wondering if I should perhaps use Pandaman’s stockinette adaptation instead of the original as a base, because the primary problem with the current oeuvre is the row gauge of sc rows versus garter rows. As far as I can understand it, of course. We shall have to see.

Not quite there yet

I’ve been busy over the past couple of days trying to fulfill a dream wish of mine. Converting the Baby Surprise Jacket to crochet. For my first attempt, I did a plain stitch for stitch translation from knit to crochet, replacing knit with single crochet.

Quite early on I saw there was a problem, but I persisted and finished the piece. I’ve tried to pull it into shape, but as you can see, there are some problems. It appears the piece is too long and not wide enough.

Obviously I shall have to rip it back, and redo it. It will involve some thinking. Namely, I need to make it such that the width of the two fronts equals the back (cast-on edge) minus the sleeve lengths (allowing for the button bands, of course). Also perhaps reduce the length of the back a bit so the fronts are squarer.

Something tells me that dreaded thing, a swatch, is imminent. Oh dear.

Mothers-in-law

From Donna Leon’s A Uniform Justice -

Brunetti thought of Parliament in the way most Italians thought of their mothers-in-law. Not due the loyalties created by ties of blood, a mother-in-law still demanded obedience and reverence while never behaving in a manner that would merit either. This alien presence, imposed upon a person’s life by sheerest chance, made ever-increasing demands in return for the vain promise of domestic harmony. Resistance was futile, for opposition inevitably led to repercussions too devious to be foreseen.

I loved this the first time I read it and still do, although I now find some repetitious use of words, and also cannot quite see how Parliament could possibly fit into the situation. However, I have the feeling Ms Leon had to get it off her chest, so it entered the book

Please discuss the passage. I’m all ears.

Drool.

I find it odd that I like food blogs. Just try this.

Fraternal twins?

Or first cousins perhaps. There is a Doilie-along over at Ravelry for the Doilie Heads group, and I decided to join because I’ve never knit a doily before. I’m happy to say it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be! Here are my results. First, the crochet version (although I did it second).

And the details:

Thread: Aunt Lydia’s Classic Crochet (size 10) in Victory Red. The colour’s much richer in real life, not the washed-out version of my camera. I’ve never felt constrained to use only white for doilies, I don’t know why. It seems limiting somehow, my skills, resources and abilities are limited enough already without adding colour restrictions to the constraints. Here is my Ravelry page for the project.

I quite liked the feel of the thread, although it isn’t shiny like the Anchor and Red Heart we get here, it’s soft. Slightly fuzzy though, and might not stand up to rough use (will pill).

Hook: Pony handled steel hook 1.75mm

Pattern: Antlia from Patrizia Pisani (CrochetPatty of Patty’s Filet and Crocheting Page). She has lovely patterns, I don’t know why I haven’t done more of them. Although I suspect I might have done the odd one before my blogging days. Alas, no photographic evidence exists. I wrote too soon. There is one other project I have evidence of. I think I made it while we were living in Bombay, so it’s at least 4 years old. I might have given it away too.

Time: Two days

Size: 12″

Extra #1 Compared to the knit version, this isn’t as elegant and delicate as I’d like, but then I suppose that’s what you get with size 10 thread. Makes the point that with the same fibre, knit is always finer (unless you want to make holey and too-loose crochet). Quick and easy, though. Badly blocked as usual.

#2 There is what appears to be one error in the instructions. Replace the ‘dc’ in the final row with ’sc’ and it works.

#3 No specific picot version is given in the pattern, so I did a ch 3, slip st in first ch.

Now for the knit version.

Thread: Same as above. I wanted to make the material same, to emphasise the difference between the two techniques. Point made, I think.

Someone suggested I should use wool, but the thread gave me some familiarity. I do have some laceweight wool, but it terrifies me.

Needles: Unknown metal US 1/2.25mm needles (my only set of 5 given to me by Heide). I was afraid I didn’t have the right size of needles for this project, and would have much preferred using a circular, perhaps, but I found these worked quite nicely for me. Although perhaps I was wrong to apply my crochet logic (use the size that minimises gaping), but should have instead gone up a size or two. Might have made the knitting lacier. Don’t know if I’d have liked it, though. This one, I’m quite happy with.

The beginning was quite fiddly. I wasn’t sure I hadn’t twisted the stitches, not in joining, but in knitting the rounds. In such fine thread, it’s difficult to make out what you’ve done or which side you’re on. On the group the advice (after I’d finished) was to use a pillow to support the needles until you stabilise. Might try that the next time. Yes, I do hope there will be a next time! Knitting lace with yarn is frightening, but not so much with thread. Itty-bitty thread, I’m used to.

Pattern: Flacon from Yarnover.net. Here is my Ravelry project page.

Time: Two days

Size: 8″

Extra #1 Finished with crochet loops, and I wasn’t too sure I was doing the binding off (between the knit and the crochet rounds) correctly, but it doesn’t look odd. The pattern doesn’t specify how you insert your needle when you are crocheting three knit stitches together, so I just did what was convenient. I suppose I could have looked it up, but I wanted to finish.

#2 The knit fabric doesn’t give much opportunity for hiding ends, unlike crochet. I had to think a bit for this.

#3 I broke a personal barrier with this one!

#4 The knit band was unusual for me because unlike in a crochet doily where you have to increase the number of stitches each round to prevent puckering, these 6 rounds had the same number of stitches throughout. Apparently because of the height of knit stitches is much less than that of crochet ones.

Some contest links for you

Nannybird wants to know why you named your blog what you did; ponyknits and Cinnamongirl want to give away some Malabrigo (which I hear is very very soft). Go on, I’ll wait.

Cotton in the kitchen

My fascination for dishcloths continues…I am trying to make things from my Ravelry queue nowadays, and this has been on it for a while now. It’s a variation on the diagonal knit pattern, from eLOOManator and I used about half a skein. Details in the usual format:

Yarn: Lily Sugar n’Cream in Yellow. Remains of the skeins I used for my dishcloths last year. Here is my Ravelry page for the project.

Needles: Denise US #6 (3.75mm?)

Pattern: eLOOManator’s Diagonal Dishcloth (Ravelry link) Her webpage doesn’t appear to be working does not seem to give the pattern (she’s more interested in weaving with small looms), and she’s given the pattern on the Ravelry page, which isn’t allowed, so it might vanish any time. If you want it, now’s the time to grab it!

Time: Overnight

Size: 9.5″ x 9.5″

Extra #1 I love how the cotton makes the stitches really stand out. What a nice bright colour it is, too! I still have about half a skein leftover (there were originally 2 full ones). Both sides look good, see:

Another item off my queue was finished in Agra (although I started it in Cochin). More cotton, again for the kitchen.

And the specs:

Yarn: Lion Kitchen Cotton in Navy. I have about three skeins and used about three-fourths of one for this. Here is my Ravelry page for the project.

Needles: Denise US #6 (3.75mm?)

Pattern: Kitchen towel (Ravelry link) from the Dishcloth Boutique, pattern here. The Dishcloth Boutique site works for me sometimes, sometimes not.

Time: Two days

Size: 10″ x 13″

Extra #1 I was doubtful initially about using a dark colour, whether the texture would show up well or not, but I’m happy enough with the product. Haven’t put in a button yet, but then I have a nail, not a towel ring to hang it from.

I still have about 65 projects on my queue. How many do you have and how old is the oldest? Mine dates from my joining, about 8 months old, but I hope to have it finished shortly.

They’re small and you learn new stitch patterns. What’s not to like about dishcloths? I love them! Bring on the cotton!