A Gift for a Friend

Not long after we moved to Malmo I signed my kiddos up for classes at The Little Gym. I needed to get out and meet other people. The kiddos needed to meet other kiddos. And one of the first people I met there became one of my first friends here. Knitting brought us together. During one of Tipton's classes I brought out my knitting. She came over and was very excited to see someone knitting - she had just started knitting herself. She told me about a wonderful yarn shop. We've gotten together several times for knitting sessions.

I met her at one of my darkest hours here in Malmo. I was feeling very homesick, missing my friends. And she was so cheerful, so friendly.

When I got the Mason Dixon Knitting book I showed it to her. We ooooh'd and aaaaah'd over all the patterns.

I had enough yarn leftover from the ballband dishrag to knit a second one. So I did, only in reverse colors. So it would look kind of like a brick wall. When I finished I had to show it to my friend. She really liked it. So naturally, I wanted to give it to her. So I did. She was thrilled, said it matches her kitchen. It seems like such a small gift for someone who made such a huge difference in my life here.

It ain't much, but here it is, Lina's Dishrag.

Ballband Dishrag

An acutal finished object! And I've even used it since I took the picture. The pattern is from Mason Dixon Knitting. I love this book. My goal is to make everything in it. Eventually. I'm starting small. First the baby kimono sweaters. And now the dishrag.

They said the pattern was really easy. And I wanted to believe them, really I did. But I'm still pretty new at reading patterns. But as I started knitting along, I saw what they mean. It IS a simple pattern. And it knits up really quickly.

I made this one over the weekend. And while that may seem like a long time to a seasoned knitter, you must keep in mind that I have two small children and a husband. And since it was the weekend, they were all home, all the time. It's amazing that I got any knitting done at all! And I even knitted part of this while the children were awake!!

This weekend we moved one of the couches into the playroom. The green couch. It's what I use as a background for my knitting pictures, well that and sometimes the floor. I figure anything looks better than the 70s green couch fabric, right? So my knitting will always look good when compared to the green couch... Eventually I would like to recover the green couch. It really is a comfy couch, though. It was my MILs. Great for sleeping on. And great for sitting and knitting. And now it's in the playroom, so I can sit and knit while the kiddos play.

Back to the dishrag... I've already started another one. Same colors, but reversed. It's looking like a little brick wall. One can never have two many dishrags, especially when one has small children that tend to be sticky after meals...

Not sure what I'm going to make next. I really need/want to get started on the raglan sweaters for the kiddos. Maybe I'll do those next...


ballband dishrag on the green couch

Some Not-So-Finished Objects

Okay, so I finished knitting the green baby kimono sweater. I have also knitted a blue baby kimono sweater. All done with the knitting. Now I just need to get some ribbon for the side ties, so that I can do the 'making up' part (sewing the sides/under arms.) But the knitting is all done - see!?!!! Aren't they cute?

Work In Progress (WIP)

This is my first post of a WIP. I am making baby kimono sweaters. My brother in law is expecting twin boys in August. I am making them little kimono sweaters. A green one (the WIP) and a blue one (not yet started.)

The baby kimono is much easier to make than I thought it would be. Thus far I've only made dishrags, scarves and a few simple hats. This is my first "major" work. I'm all excited!




Oh, just to point out... That canister that my yarn is in is called a Yarn Trainer. My friend, Amy, gave it to me for my birthday. It is sooooo cool! It keeps my yarn clean and tangle free and (most importantly) out of Lilli's clutches. Although, the other day she discovered that it is fun to pull the yarn coming out of the hole in the top - it just keeps coming and coming!

New Yarn!

Spring has come to Malmo! To celebrate, I went to the yarn shop today. I bought some really bright cotton yarn. I am going to make more bibs and dish rags with them. I can't wait!


Oh yeah, can you tell I got a ball winder? I love it!

Bibs!

A friend of mine told me about the coolest knitting book ever. I bought it and she was right. It is soooooooo cool! I want to make absolutely everything in this book. I decided to start small, and make a baby bib. What a cool idea - knitting a bib. And my brother-in-law and his wife are expecting twins in a few months, so what a perfect gift! I decided to use up some of the yarn in my stash. I still need to add the buttons (for fastening) but here are the two I've made so far.

I started with some pretty yellow/green/blue yarn. Only, I came up a little short. So one of the straps isn't as long as the other. I don't think it will matter much.



















The second one is really cute and really, really soft. It will make a good drool bib. I made a scarf out of the same stuff for Lilli back in November. Only the main color was pink, not light blue.




I've got to go out and buy more cotton yarn, so I can make more bibs!!

My Sister's Hat, revisited

Ta-da! Here is it! The hat for my sister, in a size that will actually FIT! I used the same pattern and the same yarn, but dropped down a needle size. It is amazing how much of a difference just one needle size can make. Amazing. If you want to compare, you can scroll down and check out the first hat that I made for her. It was big. Really, big. It was too big for her husband. It might fit one of her horses, I'll have to ask... In the meantime, here are some pictures. One of the hat on me (for size comparison purposes.) And a couple of the hat on my daughter, Lilli - just because she's really cute (and it shows the shape of the hat.) And one of just the hat.

Third Time's A Charm!

My third attempt at the rolled brim hat. Success! It actually fits! Woo-hoo! To celebrate I took my daughter out to feed the ducks. She wore her hat, too.

Flushed with success (or possibly just chilled from feeding the ducks in the rain), I am going to turn my attention to my mateless mittens... We'll see if I can't knit up some mates that match.

I Go To Extremes

Rolled Brim Hat - Part 2 (Different Yarn, Different Size)




The first attempt at the rolled brim hat resulted in The Hat That Ate Malmo. A giant hat that bore absolutely no resemblance to the original pattern. I blame it on the fact that I used the wrong yarn. So for the second attempt I was going to be smarter. I used the correct type of yarn. And just to hedge my bets, I made the 'small' size. Well, small it is! A little too small. For me, that is. It fits my daughter perfectly!




Stay tuned for Rolled Brim Hat Part 3 - Same Yarn, Different Size.

My Mom, the Knitting Machine

My Mom came to visit. She was here for two weeks and it was WONDERFUL. I miss my Mom. She used to knit when she was younger, but hadn't knit in over 30 years. But since I have recently 'discovered' knitting, she's decided to take it up again. Only, she had forgotten how to cast on. So while she was here I taught her how to cast on. (No easy task - my Mom is left handed and I am not.) But cast on she did. And she knit herself a scarf. Then she knit herself a hat. Then she decided to start knitting baby hats. And knit baby hats she did - 11 of them! (In like, a week.) She is going to talk her Red Hat Ladies into knitting baby hats to give to the hospital. She is a kniting machine. She is unstoppable. She is my Mom, and I miss her.

What Is It With Me and Big Hats?

I finished knitting the hat for my sister. I started by knitting for guage. I made guage, so I started knitting the hat. All seemed to be going well. Then I ran out of yarn, so I went back to the yarn shop and bought another ball. Certainly one extra ball would be enough to finish the hat. It wasn't. I had to go back for yet another ball. I started to suspect that something was wrong. I finished the hat and tried it on and sure enough - another giant hat. This one isn't as big as the hat that ate Malmo, but it's definitely related. Hmmmm, maybe her husband can wear it. Then I can make her another (smaller) one and they can have matching hats! Of course, that must have been my plan all along. I just hadn't realized it.

So Many Mittens, So Few Mates

I was so excited about how well my first mitten turned out that I wanted to make a pair for my daughter. So I set about making a mitten the size that I thought she would wear. It was almost too small, so I made a mitten the next size up. That one was just a little big. At this point I realized that I had three different sized mittens, and they didn't have mates. I thought it would be wise to knit the mates for them before I forgot what size they were and/or ran out of yarn. I started with the smallest mitten. it turned out 'okay' but the thumb seemed a bit big. This didn't stop me from knitting a mate for the next size up. But when I'd finished that one, there was a noticable size difference. Looking through my knitting bag I discovered that somewhere along the way I must have switched needle sizes, because I had three sets of dpns, when I should have only had two (one size for the cuff and a slightly larger size for the hand/thumb part.) Hmmmmmmm - what to do? Instead of ripping out the two mates and/or knitting for guage again, I made a wild guess as to which two size needles I needed, removed the other set of needles and proceeded to knit the last mate. I guessed wrong. And it is very, very obvious. Not just in appearance, but in how it fits. Well, um, it doesn't fit. Too small. The good news is, now I know what size needles to knit it on. A friend suggested that I rip out the last mate and start over, with the correct sized needles. My Mom said 'Well, you can make the odd sizes into Christmas ornaments.' I like that idea better - less work. Just have to attach a string to make it a Christmas ornament. And the best part is - now I have three ornaments to give as gifts! And here I thought I was just knitting mittens...

One Mitten

My husband went on a business trip recently. The first trip he's gone on since we moved to Sweden, so the first trip he's been on in over three months. I decided I needed a project to work on while he was gone. So I started a mitten. I've been wanting to make mittens for a while now. And I found some yarn that I thought would make a nice thick mitten. It was much easier to knit than I thought it would be. Wasn't difficult at all. And it only took me two days (well, two nights after I got the kids to bed.) Now I just need to make it's mate...

Not My Favorite Child...

My daughter, Lilli, is 21 months old. She is not my favorite child right now... The other day I was on the computer and Lilli was watching a video. Or at least I thought she was watching a video. It seems she'd decided to entertain herself with my knitting. I was about 1/3 of the way finished with a hat that I'm knitting for my sister. Lilli got into my knitting bag. She broke a couple of my wooden dpns into small pieces. Then she pulled my ball of yarn apart. Then she pulled the stoppers off the ends of my circular needles and pulled some of the stitches off. I discovered this when she started bringing me the pieces of the dpns. Now, Lilli is an adorable child and I love her with all of my heart. After several hours I forgave her, and reprimanded myself for leaving my knitting within her reach. Upon further inspection the damage wasn't too bad. The dpns were fairly cheap so I'm not the least bit concerned with those. And I was able to save the hat without having to rip it back. So all was not lost, and I learned a valuable lesson: Never leave your knitting within a child's reach.

The Roll Brim Hat

So I wanted to make a hat that would keep me warm and be some what stylish. I decided on this pattern.
Only I wanted to use some yarn that I already had (Lagoon), yarn that was really soft and would be very, very warm. Keep in mind that I am a fairly new knitter. I was good and knit a swatch and made guage. So I set off on my quest. About 3/4 of the way through the hat I knew something was wrong. But I was determined to finish the hat, and finish it I did. I tried it on and thought "Hmmmmm, this seems a little big." But I wore it nonetheless thinking that we would adjust to each other, my new hat and I. Then a gust of wind almost blew my hat off and I realized I had a problem, a big problem. My hat was not only a little big, it was very big. Very, very big. The yarn I had used was indeed soft and warm, but also kind of stretchy. And I got lazy in my knitting and didn't keep my stitches as tight as they should have been. The result was my giant hat. I threw it in the washer, but all it did was get it clean. And if anything I swear it's bigger. It must grow when I'm not watching it. Because every time I look at it, it seems bigger. It now sits on the counter above the dryer. "The hat that ate Malmo..."