Thursday, December 31, 2009

Aquaphobia Socks

It was a close run, with my finishing these socks 3.5 hours before the deadline ( midnight December 31st). I had started these about one and a half months ago but did not cast on the second socks until 3 days ago. So it was really stressful in the end. And for once I struggled with kitchener st, which I always believe to be a piece of cake. Once, I had it fixed, I tried on the sock to find it was too long in the foot. So, I had to frog and redo the toes. If it is any consolation, I got the Kitchener right this time.

Despite this race against time, it has turned out a really nice pair. And I am happy working with the deadline if it means a finished pair. As for the pattern, it is Aquaphobia socks and the yarn is Soft Sock Yarn by Sunshine yarns, which I got from my friend Shells.
And I guess this is my last finished project for the year :)

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Tutu Pullover


I finally weaved in the ends on the pullover I was knitting for my daughter. I restarted a project a couple of times to get the design right. Initially I was trying bottom up but later settled for top-down knitting, starting with the turleneck. In the end, it turned out to be a perfect fit and I am very happy with it. I might be writing down the pattern for it.
Last week I also knitted up a hat to go with my daughter's sunburst coat. I was a bit short on yarn and just barely managed it. However it turned out nice and goes well with the coat.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Here is a sock!


A month of intermittent knitting, finally gives me the first sock of the aquapobia pair. I am not too fond of the pooling at the foot but it is snug and comfortable and fits well. It was a good knitting experience too, without any hitches, and watching how the colors will turn up on every row was great fun! Now, I have to knit the second sock before the end of the month to qualify for the sockdown.

Monday, December 14, 2009

School Hat

With two sick kids on my hands, I needed a simple small project to work on. A school hat for my son was the perfect project for the occasion. It took only two days to knit and my son has a new hat to replace his old misplaced one, once he starts going back to school, inshaAllah.

The pattern was straightforward. As mine was intended for a six year old, I cast on only 100 sts and adjusted the decreases at the top accordingly. Also, I used ssk decrease instead of the prescribed kks. I love how the decreases line up on the top of the hat. Also, it has room for adapt to a growing head.

As for the kids, they are doing much better now, alhamdolillah. Their fever is down and cough much improved.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Wavy Feathers Wimple

It took me more time than expected to finish this wimple. I knitted it according to the directions, then added half a stitch pattern more for good measure and soaked and blocked it and even got my daughter to model it.

But when I tried it on myself, I found it too short for my liking and too loose around the face. So I took another day, ripped back the garter edging at the top and added another pattern repeat. So in the end, it is 1.5 pattern repeats longer than the recommended length. Also, this time I made the cast-off less loose for a snugger fit around the face. My cast-on was very very loose and blocked into a scalloped edge to my delight.

All in all, I love Wavy Feathers Wimple pattern. The yarn is Mitai, 2- ply, fingering weight, handpainted 55% silk/ 45% cashmere yarn by Moxie Yarns which I won in one of her blog giveaways. It is wonderful to knit with and wear. I still have half of it left and I am considering making a pair of fingerless gloves with it. But that and the rest will have to wait as both the kids have caught some sort of respiratory tract infection right now.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Laddu Pullover

Thus named is the design for the cotton pullover I made for my son a while back. It goes up for sale at my ravelry store today. Non-ravelry people can find the purchase link below. I had a wonderful set of test knitters for this pattern. You will be able to check out their projects once they link them to the pattern.

This raglan pullover is knit in rounds from bottom up till the armholes, then the front and back are worked separately. The sleeves are done the same way.
: Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi)
 Yardage: Approx 300( 350, 400, 500, 640, 750)yards MC  and  200( 260,340, 440, 600, 680) yards CC
: 16 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches in st st
:US 8 - 5.0 mm, US 6 - 4.0 mm
: 2 (4, 6, 8, 10, 12) years
Finished measurements:
Chest: 26 (28, 30, 32, 34, 36) inches
Length: 16 (18, 20, 22, 24, 26) inches
Sleeve length (to underarm): 9 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15.5) inches

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Eid and More


For me relaxation comes in the form of knitting and I worked some on my new cast-ons. The first one is a wimple/smoke ring I am knitting for myself. It is a nice, easy lace pattern
without being too lacy. So I am hoping it will serve as a good inhouse headcovering.

The second one is going to be a glitzy pullover for my daughter. My own design of course. I have had some Moda Dea Tutu in my stash. It is shiny and it is pink, so what better use for it than a little girl's sweater.