new pattern in embryonic form: dna

i have convinced my crabby son to try a sweater vest, by describing it as "a sweater with no sleeves." that's an idea he could appreciate!

starting with the top-down seamless vest tutorial, i thought i'd dress it up with a cable or something - and then got the idea that my science-minded kid might appreciate some dna!

(this may be the closest i get to anything cronenberg-inspired.)

so far, i am not super excited with how it's taking shape, so i'm going to rip back and re-work with strands 2 sts wide instead of 1. some other changes too. think i'll make it narrower.

luckily, it is going pretty quickly, so i am certain i will have it done in time for the event for which it is intended - a memorial service at the end of the month, outdoors (in a heated tent), north of montreal.

oaks and acorns

the pastry for the pumpkin pies is resting, the toffee sauce for the sticky toffee pudding is made, the pumpkins have been roasted, all that's left is some stirring, assembly, and baking.

and knitting.

i started both of these at the cottage, but only just finished the little oak hoodie this week! needed to get it done in time to give at thanksgiving, and before the baby outgrows it!

i wanted to get this one done in time too, but i think i'm out of luck. i lost the pattern i originally drew up, and then had to recreate it. today, of all days, i found the original pattern! sigh.

here are some finished acorns:

and a squirrel taking shape!

paddington: a hat for mrs brown

A hat for mrs brown is complete!

And the weather to match seems to have arrived at the same time.

At first I wasn't sure what to do once I'd gathered it in at the top. I needed a little button - preferably to match?

then I had an idea for something just the right size.

A few stitches to hold it in place...

And voila! Yarn covered "button" I didn't need to leave the house to find.

Tadah! (remember, I'm a knitter, not a photographer.)

here is the pdf of the pattern. enjoy!

brambles: something quick and easy for a change

once in a while, i like to take on a project i can actually complete in under 5 years, just for that feeling of accomplishment. so, last week i made this brambles hat (pattern also available from knitty) and this week i cast on fingerless mitts to go with.

the hat i got done in a day - mitts are taking a bit longer since i am making them up as i go along! had one misfire, but take two is looking quite nice.
brambles mitts
1 ball cascade 220 heathers, 2.75mm dpns, 3.5mm dpns (most people would use larger needles - these are what i used to get gauge for the hat)
using smaller needles, cast on 36 stitches using long-tail or other stretchy cast on.
row 1: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1
repeat for 30 rows.
switch to larger needles, arrrange stitches so you have 13 on needle 1, 12 on needle 2, and 11 on needle 3, and begin hand shaping.
row 1: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1 (this is the back of the hand, and will become the brambles chart), k11 (the palm of the hand)
row 2: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, m1, k11, m1
row 3: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k13
row 4: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, m1, k13, m1
row 5: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k15
row 6: p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, m1, k15, m1
row 7: work brambles chart row 11 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k17
row 8: work brambles chart row 12 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, m1, k17, m1
row 9: work brambles chart row 13 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 10: work brambles chart row 14 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 11: work brambles chart row 15 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 12: work brambles chart row 16 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 13: work brambles chart row 17 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 14: work brambles chart row 18 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 15: work brambles chart row 19 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
start thumb shaping:
row 16: work brambles chart row 20 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, (right hand: k1, m1, k4, m1, k14) (left hand: k14, m1, k4, m1, k1)
row 17: work brambles chart row 21 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k21
row 18: work brambles chart row 22 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k21
row 19: work brambles chart row 23 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k21
row 20: work brambles chart row 24 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, (right hand: k1, m1, k6, m1, k14) (left hand: k14, m1, k6, m1, k1)
row 21: work brambles chart row 13 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k23
row 22: work brambles chart row 14 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k23
row 23: work brambles chart row 15 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k23
row 24: work brambles chart row 16 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, (right hand: k1, m1, k8, m1, k14) (left hand: k14, m1, k8, m1, k1)
row 25: work brambles chart row 17 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k25
row 26: work brambles chart row 18 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, (right hand: k1, move 10 sts to holder, co 4, k14) (left hand: k14, move 10 sts to holder, co 4, k1)
row 27: work brambles chart row 19 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 28: work brambles chart row 16 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 29: work brambles chart row 17 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 30: work brambles chart row 18 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
row 31: work brambles chart row 19 across back of hand, working the cable at each side, k19
switch to smaller needles, and finish in 8 rows of ribbing as follows:
p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1
bind off using stretchy stitch of your choice, break yarn.
for thumb:
with larger needles, pick up 10 sts from holder, 4 sts along co edge, and 1 st at each end of co edge: 16 sts.
work 4 rows stockinette.
work 8 rows k1, p1 ribbing.
bind off using stretchy stitch of your choice, break yarn.
run in all ends.

to catch a thief: the plot thickens!

well, hooray for the toothpick protocol, because it made me aware of a very nearly fatal error.

i decided to mark out the paisles going down the front of the sweater, just to make sure i am getting them properly symmetrical (although, if you look at the original, it is a bit wonky - i just can't be that authentic. if you zoom in, you can see how hastily those paisles were stitched on, too). this ledt me to realise that, at some point the pullover as knit is about 24 rows longer than what i had charted! oh the fun of making things up as you go, sometimes you miss writing down a step or two.

anyway, back to the drawing board.

this is the joy of charting in exel - easy to cut and paste a few paisles into different locations, then tweak and augment them as necessary. i also noticed a shape or two at the side that i'd missed entirely, so there you go.

then i picked out the centre paisles with toothpicks again, to be doubly certain i'm getting it right for once.

it works!

also thinking - maybe i shouldn't chain around the outside of the paisley-shapes? looking at what i've done so far, i kind of prefer the un-chained ones. am i crazy? or just lazy?

i think i will decide that at the end. in any case, here is what the revised chart looks like:

it's only half a chart, since the pullover is symmetrical, with just the central column of paisles straddling both sides in an asymmetrical way.

to catch a thief, very slowly

remember this?

well, i'm back on it.

saturday i was feeling under the weather, so i sent the family off to parapan am goalball medal tournaments while i stayed home to rest, and futz around with this very non-portable project.

step one: finish the excel spreadsheet of the chart. print out. scribble on it.

step two: run in ends. why so many? seems not fair.

step three: duplicate stitch the individual shapes, or "paisles" as we called them when i was a kid. here's a finished one!

then i realised that if i do the chain-stitching around the edge, it is harder to count how many stitches away to start the next one. so, for now i am just doing the duplicate stitch, and leaving a long tail to chain later.

it's really slow-going. newest strategy is to "mark out" the perimeter of a given paisle with toothpicks, so i spend less time counting stitches, forgetting where i am, and then counting again.

such a tedious project! but i think i'll wear it a fair amount. wondering if i'll have the energy to do the back as well, or be lazy and just do the front. i kind of hate when designers get lazy about the backs of things though. maybe after i get through a few more, i'll get a knack for it and think it is easy?

my go-to source for dupe-stitch tips and tricks - watermellish - seems to have gone into permament hibernation. what other websites are good for duplicate-stitch?

what i did on my summer vacation day seven: a fond farewell

our final day, in between packing and cleaning, i had to finish up the raft.

there were just a few finishing touches to add - a hitching ring:

and a ladder:

then away we go! we loaded on the anchors, paddled out 50 feet, and dropped anchor. then rested in the sun, while the kid swam back and forth to the dock a few times.

so nice to look out from the cottage and see our raft floating in the sun!