Gemini Top

I knit this tank top using the Gemini pattern, written by Jane Richmond. You can find the pattern on Ravelry or on Knitty. I modified this top by removing the sleeves and shortening the torsos bit because I am petite. Normally the things I knit are not things I would wear but I really like how this turned out and can see myself wearing it in the summer. Naturally, this is the first chilly weekend of Autumn so I will likely not wear this until Spring.

Life continues on. Work is great, then it’s stressful, then it’s great. The city I live in continues to become more and more dangerous. I am so pleased to have finished knitting something. I did not accomplish much this Summer, things just kept being postponed.

I hope all of you have a lovely Autumn. I am thinking that Darby might need a new sweater because the house is chillier than my apartment ever was.

Doom No More!

If you have read my blog for a while you know that any time I work on a baby blanket, it is a Baby Blanket of Doom!!! Doom because it can take years and years to finish a pithy little blankie.  This blankie was started in July of 2007 when I moved to Washington.  It moved with me back to California, sat in my bag of half done nonsense for 2 years or more before I picked it back up and knit the second half.

This pattern is from Sarah Bradbury and is called “Psychadelic Squares Afghan”. You can find it on Ravelry or on her website.

All folded up and ready to go

The blanket is about 3′ x 3′ which I think is a good size for a baby blanket.  I may gie this to Bill’s brother and sis-in-law who are expecting a wee girl in a while.  I may not, I don’t know if it’s good enough to give to them.  I have plenty of yarn left in both the colors above and coordinating colors, so there may be a sweater and some booties in order.

I would like to say that this will be the last blanket of doom, but we both know I’m lying. In super-awesome news, my sister sent me a sweet care package of yarn and old photographs of us back in our teens.  Absolutely awesome.  She has great taste in expensive yarn, so I will have an alpaca sweater before the end of the year.  More on that to come.

Christmas break is over and I am glad for it.  The holidays are stressful.  So is work and I do get less sleep when I’m back at work, something about teaching makes me wake up at 4 am worried every day, but at least I’m not freaking out over family stuff.

The pup is fabulous, in case you were wondering.

How Cute is This?

I have no knitting news to report.  The baby blanket of doom is hiding under the table.  I am ignoring it.  I will continue to ignore it until it no longer exasperates me.

In the mean time, I came across this free pattern on Ravelry.  It’s a Rainbow Dog Sweater (ravelry link). You can also find it on the Caron website here.

Rainbow Dog Sweater

I’m back to school, we started at the end of July, training for the 5k for my 30th b-day.  I don’t know if I will be able to run the whole thing, but I’ll give it a good try.

The Last Day

…of Spring Break, that is.

I didn’t accomplish everything I had hoped to do over the break.  I had wanted to go to the gym every day, instead I went to Lake Tahoe and crashed down the stairs.  The gym, along with sitting and standing, was not to be thought about again for at least a week.

Knitting, however, was not off the list.  So I knit a lot.  I started a sweater, first while up in Tahoe, then I ripped it out and started again here after finding a better pattern.  I’m following the top-down raglan pattern found here (called Pioneer), but I’m not making it so tight, I’m using a different gauge, I’m making it a long sleeve cardigan, and I’m taking out the cables.  So really I’m making a different sweater entirely but I am using the basic sweater recipe she wrote, with modifications for my petite (read: short, not slender) frame.

Oh yeah, and more booties (again, following Saartje’s pattern).

ladybug booties!

I don’t know what to do with these booties.  Bill suggested I start selling them but I was worried that would be a bad idea since I didn’t write the pattern.  I checked on Etsy and other people are making and selling these for between 16 and 22 dollars, so I am considering it.

They really are adorable, aren't they?

I also made a pair for Bill’s nephew, Jack.  I did try to give him one of the pairs I had made earlier but they were too small.  So I made a larger pair and was hoping to get them to him this weekend.  It doesn’t look like I will be able to get these to him but I do want those booties on his feet before he outgrows them.  These are made out of double knit baby alpaca yarn in gray and a heathered gray blue.

Jack's booties

I also started planting for spring.  My bell pepper plants from Verna are doing well and I got a cherry tomato plant, as well as a strawberry and squash plant.  I picked up some basil and mint seeds that I might grow in the kitchen so that I have some fresh herbs.

My adorable little bell pepper.

Darby likes the little patio.

Darby is tired from investigating all the new plants.

Saturday I am off to the zoo with my cousin which is absolutely fun and exciting.  In the morning I’m going to do day 2 of my “Couch to 5k” program.  I’m hoping one day to be able to run a 5k, preferably before I turn 30 in September.

Double Cable Chihuahua Sweater

Double Cable Chi Sweater

For those few of you following my blog, thank you.You’re probably here because you have a special little Chihuahua in your life in dire need of a sweater also and you, too, have the ability to knit.I present to you dear readers, Darby’s latest sweater.If you can’t do cables, just follow the instructions without actually doing the cables or purls, and you’ll have a straight forward sweater.If you want to add sleeves, the instructions are written in the previous sweater pattern, I just ran out of the main color (started with a ball of the main color about the size of a tennis ball).

This week’s sweater is made with lion brand wool-ease.I used 2 colors, 1 brown and 1 red (who keeps the labels of yarn leftovers?Not me, I prefer losing them immediately and wondering what kind of yarn it is I have)

Please note, I can’t explain how to do cables, so I’ll describe them to you.The sweater has two cables that go in opposite directions.Each cable is made of 4 sts, with 2 crossing over the other two.From here on out, I’m just going to put cable where one will be done.

Recipe

Main color

Contrasting color

Notions:

Size 8 dpns

Cable needle

Needle for sewing in loose ends

Neck

Cast on 28 stitches in contrasting color

Distribute over 3 needles as follows: 9, 10, 9

Join and knit in 2×2 rib for 2”

Switch to main color and straight stitch and increase as follows:

Please note the center needle will always have k4, p2, k4 for your cables

Begin Increase shaping for the legs

1)k2, kfb, k4, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k4, kfb, k2 (30 stitches total)

2)k2, kfb, k5, p2, /k4, p2, k4/,p2, k5, kfb, k2 (32 stitches total)

3)k2, kfb, k6, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,P2, k6, kfb, k2 (34)

4)k2, kfb, k7, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k7, kfb, k2 (36)

5)k2, kfb, k8, p2,/Cable left with 1^st 4 sts, p2, cable right with 2^nd 4 sts/,p2, k8, kfb, k2 (38 stitches)

6)k2, kfb, k9, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k9, kfb, k2 (40)

7)k2, kfb, k10, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k10, kfb, k2 (42)

8 )k2, kfb, k11, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k11, kfb, k2 (44)

9)k2, kfb, bind off 8 sts, k4, p2/ k4, p2, k4/,p2, k4, bind off 8 sts, kfb, k2 (46)

10)k2, kfb, k1, cast on 8,k4, p2,/cable, p2, cable/,p2, k4, cast on 8,k1, kfb, k2 (48 )

11)k2, kfb, k14, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k17, kfb, k2 (50)

12)k2, kfb, k15, p2,/k4, p2, k4/,p2, k15, kfb, k2(52)

13)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

14)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

15)k19, p2,/cable, p2, cable/, p2, k19 (52)

16)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

17)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

18 )k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

19)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

20)k19, p2,/cable, p2, cable/, p2, k19 (52)

21)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

22)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

23)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

24)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

25)k19, p2,/cable, p2, cable/, p2, k19 (52)

26)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

27)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

28 )k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

29)k19, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k19 (52)

Begin decrease shaping for the narrowest part of the body, past the ribs

30)k2, k2tog, k15, p2,/cable, p2, cable/, p2, k15, sl1, k1, psso, k2 (50)

31)k18, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k18 (50)

32)k2, k2tog, k14, p2, /k4, p2, k4/. P2, k14, sl1, k1, psso, k2 (48 )

33)k17, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k17 (48 )*

34)k2, k2tog, k13, p2 /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k13, sl1, k1, psso, k2 (46)

35)k16, p2, /cable, p2, cable/, p2, k16 (46)

36)k2, k2tog, k12, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k12, sl1, k1, psso, k2 (44)

37)k15, p2, /k4, p2, k4/, p2, k15 (44)

38 )with Contrasting color begin 2×2 rib for 2 inches

*Please note, I stopped decreasing here for Darby’s sweater, but added some more shaping and an additional cable because it is a little shorter than I would like.If you wanted, you could continue with the cable without the decreasing by repeating #33 until you get to #35, doing a cable, and then doing #33 2 more times.Your choice.My Darby has a nice healthy lean shape, so the additional shaping wouldn’t be an issue, but if your little Chihuahua is more “robust” you may want to follow the steps as written in asterisks.

She is tired of all the cameras.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.