teamkaty

Ikea is evil

No more diapering in the dark
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

This afternoon Pete and I went to Ikea to buy a lampshade for his room and picture frames for Robin.  We walked out with:

*a lampshade (not the one I wanted)
*no frames (they were out of the black)
*a set of (admittedly, cute and versatile) wrapping paper
*twinkle stars (the baby will like them!)
*Christmas tree ornaments (for the tree we can't have, because of the cats?)

That wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for the fact that I haven't even unpacked the excesses from our last trip...which was over two months ago.  Damn you, merchandise floor!  Damn you!

But guess what?  Pete luuuurves Ikea.  I had him in the Ergo, and the minute we hit the furniture floor (c'mon, I had to walk through!) he threw his head back and started crowing with laughter.  And he was bopping to the bad '80s music the whole time we were there.  Huh.  2 million Swedes can't be wrong, I guess.

Party hearty cardis!

Let's overlook the fact that it was 95 degrees with 400% humidity yesterday, shall we?  Because it's September, and that's technically FALL.  Back-to-school, dead-leaf, pencil-shavin' and lunch-box-totin' weather.  Woooo!  And what does the well-dressed baby wear in such a season?  What does he slip into after he hangs up his blazer and unlaces his kicks?  That's right, a cardigan.  A party hardy cardi! Toasty, yet adjustable comfort that allows him to board the Make-Believe trolley hit the beer bong in style.

Pete has two new cardigans to dork rock out in this fall.  His Cousinly Cardigan was supposed to be for summer, but didn't quite make it--and really, no one needs a cardigan here in the summer anyway.  There was a lot of grumpiness involved with this one.  To start with, the yarn wasn't the color I wanted, which seems to be a running problem for me with Knit Picks. 

Is it my monitor?  Their pictures?  Who knows, but what I thought was going to be a summery sage green turned out to be dead-of-winter pine.  (It's even darker than it appears here--the sweater pix are pretty true-to-life.) Perhaps I should have known this from the name, as Wikipedia tells me that the cypress is a member of the conifer family.  Alas, I am not in the habit of performing due diligence on color names.  It seemed ridiculous to return $11 worth of yarn, though, so I duly cast on.  Beef the second: Cotton yarn, I am over it.  This stuff didn't murder my hands a la the Rowan Denim, but I hate the drapiness, I hate the fuzz, and I hate the way holes grooooow.  Only wool from now on, folks.  Hold me to it.  And finally, a small scrap of disgruntlement with the pattern--hey Nashua, when I pay $14 for a booklet of patterns, I expect you to do the math for me, not give me bullshit "decrease 12 stitches evenly" type instructions. 

That's right--all those decreases for the yoke?  It's just you and the calculator function on your cell phone, my friends. 

On the plus side, it's cute, it fits nicely, and the stockinette for the 9 month size is (surprise!) much less onerous than for the 2 year model.  Hmm, which I don't seem to have blogged--

Pete's cousin Emma has the same sweater in lilac (which was basically as Knit Picks pictured) with some lovely flowered buttons.

 

Now, if I can just get a version of this shot with them both wearing their Cousinly Cardigans, my satisfaction will be complete.  Mmmmmmatchymatchymatchy.

For more traditional occasions (Glee Club, etc.) he also has a new cardigan from his Grammie:

She used a pattern from The Family Knitting Book by James Norbury, who appears to have been something of a knitting celebrity in the '60s, if we can judge from titles like Knit! With James Norbury. Ok!  I think I will!

  There are some hilarious patterns in Family Knitting, as well as some nice baby classics.  My mom found the pictures on the dust jacket "weird" and reports that she's better able to enjoy the book now that she's tossed it. She also tossed the ball band on the yarn, so I can't tell you what it's made of, only that it's soft.  And doubtless washable.  And Katybird-blue.

Ready for fall? Button up, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

In which virtue is not rewarded.

The solution to pollution
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

Bet you thought my next post would be about finishing something, eh?  Nah--FOs are for sissies!  When faced with a raft of half-done projects, the tough...go shopping.  Actually, there is a logic here, tenuous though it may be.  I have some pillow tops for Pete's room that I need to finish. (And then you'll get the full show, I promise.  Although there's some, um, styling that needs to happen first.)  To do that, I needed just a yard or two from Purl Patchwork, but making it into Manhattan is a little more complicated than it used to be.  So I thought, oh for Pete's sake (heh), just order it online and pay shipping; subway fare would be $4 anyway.  But of course...I had to get a little something to round out the order, didn't I?  And who can resist HIPPOS, especially HIPPO BUTTS?  (You have to cap it, sorry.) No, I have no idea what to do with it.  I'm thinking maybe little HIPPO pants for several small persons I know.

The irony here is that PP actually ships from California.  So what I could have picked up in a two-mile trip on public transportation I had shipped several thousand miles.  Good one.  Quite a carbon footprint on those HIPPOS.

I've been mulling over the Surprisingly Large Baby Issue (I seem to do more mulling than knitting these days, alas) and I think the Pea Pod will not answer.  It's apple green cotton, you don't get much Springier than that, and by Spring she'll probably be wearing pre-teen sizes.  Instead, I think I'll make her a Vestee--short-sleeved with a hood, perfect layering for Fall and Winter.  I've always wanted to use some of the heavier weights of Lorna's Laces, and since they're superwash, this seemed like a good time.  A scroll through the completed projects on Ravelry encouraged me to try a subtle variegated.  And then...I started playing with the sell/trade feature.  Which is, as most of you probably already know, pure genius and pure evil.  I found three skeins of the worsted weight going for a steal--$30, including shipping!  True, it wasn't in one of the colorways I wanted for this particular project, but hey, I could use it for something else, right?

Oh, you know how this goes. 

On Thursday I plunked down the Paypal, and guess what came this morning, courtesy of the lovely Tomtenknits?  That's practically the speed of light! Clearly the USPS in Minneapolis is a whole 'nuther animal from Brooklyn's, or perhaps Ann is just made of sterner stuff.  Thank you, Ann!  I promise not to let it languish in my stash...well, not too long.

While I'm obsessed with sell/trade: what's up with some of the "bargains" out there?  Like people selling skeins of STR for $25.  No, not discontinued or club colors.  Just regular ol' skeins that you could buy direct from STR...for $19 plus shipping.  Are their shipping costs outrageous?  I don't get it.  Seems to me that when you're de-stashing, you should expect to take a slight loss, unless you have something extremely rare or coveted.  If, for example, I decided to part with some of my Hello Yarn (not gonna happen).   Calculate further loss if you wound it, and still further if some of it is frogged.  Right?  Am I missing something?

Summer Stall: A Diagnostic

We're headed down South at the end of the week, where I'll deposit Pete into his grammie's greedy clutches and revel in some hands-free time.  What to take with me to work on?  I would love, love, love to start something new, but I'm afraid there are an embarrassing number of projects hanging fire right now.  To wit:

That's right, eight WIPS, count 'em, 8.  Some of which, you may note, look suspiciously like FOs. Let's approach this scientifically, shall we?

Pea Pod Cardigan and Hat (upper right)

Started: March 2007, for the love of God!

Status: I don't know which is more embarrassing, the fact that the baby I initially intended this set for is almost two, or that it's actually been finished, right down to the buttons, for nearly a year.  In that time it's been through several putative recipients.  Now I've got the perfect recipient...but no appropriate envelope.

Diagnosis: Postalphobia.  Seriously, I think it's easier to knit a entire sweater than to wait in line at a NYC USPS.  In fact, you could probably knit an entire sweater while waiting on line.

Cousinly Cardigan II

Started: June

Status: This cardigan for Pete could have been done almost a month ago--all it needs is one armhole grafted, buttons, and the ends woven in.  But look at this:

Diagnosis: Demon Graft.  Ugly, huh?  I think it's  a combination of sloppy Kitchenering and the smoothness of cotton yarn, which allowed the hole to grow gargantuan as I knit the yoke.

Hat Trick BSJ

Started: Ravelry says last November, and Ravelry does not lie.  Unless I lied.  Which is possible.

Status: My third BSJ, this one has been knit and re-knit several times.  Yes, it's seamed, yes I have buttons and the matching thread all ready, but...I'm still not happy with the striping.  Plus, the intended recipient probably could have worn this for, oh, the first two weeks of her life.  Had it been cold enough.  Which it wasn't.  Said recipient will get the aforementioned Pea Pod instead.  Uh, if I find an envelope, that is.

Diagnosis: Pattern Fatigue with a side helping of Perfectionism.  Not to mention Surprisingly Big Baby. I love this yarn so much; a part of me thinks I should rip it out again and start over.  The other part says sew the goddamned buttons on already, wrap it, and wait for some deserving girl baby to be born, preferably in November.

(Did I ever show you the first two BSJs?  Here they are:

And here's Pete in his matching hat:

The I-cord edging in the variegated Fat Sock made me so happy.)

Memphis Blu Again

Started: April 11

Status: After I nearly got Carpal Tunnel from the freakin' horrid Denim yarn, you'd think I'd finish this, right?  Wrong.  You have to pre-shrink the pieces, and guess who doesn't have easy access to a washing machine?

Diagnosis: City Living. Also, I couldn't come up with anything clever to put on the little mock label, which kinda took the wind out of my sails.  Gloria Pamperbilt?  J. Poo? Jeez, and I used to come up with bad puns for a living.

"Courage!" Lotos Shawl

Started: Another brilliant move from November.

Status: The yarn bleeds and stains your hands, which I somehow wasn't keen on when I was pregnant.  I quit somewhere around row 89, with visions of Smurf-like babies cavorting in my head.  La LA lalalala...

Diagnosis: If you've ever read the fine print on prescription narcotics, you'll remember the warnings telling you not to operate heavy machinery, and, right under that, "or knit from a chart." That's good advice for the sleep deprived, too.  Year of lace my ass. Maybe when he goes to kindergarten I'll pick this up again.  Maybe.

Itchy, Scratchy, and Dull (aka Cobblestone Sweater, Baby Brain Socks, and the Primero PITA)

Started: Oh...let's not talk about it.

Status: OK, the socks are progressing, but that's just because I hate everything else on the needles more. 

Diagnosis: Terminal.  I'd rip the Primero--for the 4th time--if I could think of anything better to do with it.  And I suspect I'll end up throwing the Skye Tweed onto Alex's funeral pyre, still neatly wound.  The socks seem destined for Second Sock syndrome.

Right.  And I still don't know what to take on vacation...all of these feel like work!

At least Pete's excited to see Grammie!

Happy Birthday Baby, to me

Auditioning for Rockefeller Center
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

Generally speaking, I'm pretty casual about my birthday.  Oh, I like a party--don't ask my mother about how many summer hours I spent picking out paper napkins when I was nine*--but nowadays I'm equally happy to let the day slip by largely unheralded.  And I can't really get agitated about "another year older."  Eh, so I'm 36, officially on the short slide to 40.  C'est la vie.  But there have been exceptions to this blithe birthday spirit--namely 32, 33, and 34.  Because those birthdays were "I'm getting older and I can't get pregnant."  Time, of course, is the evil compounder in the infertility experience--the longer things take, the more fucked you are.  When I turned 35 last year I was two months pregnant, with "Advanced Maternal Age" on my charts, and just starting to allow myself a little optimism.  And now I'm 36, and I can't really expound on the sea change that's happened around here, because the agent of all this change is starting to get fractious.  I'll just say that this is my best birthday yet, and leave it at that.


But this blog is supposed to be about knitting, yes?  We're heading to the beach for a few days and I need to cobble a project together pronto--car trips are the only hands-free time I have nowadays.  Question: would I be absolutely insane to frog 4 feet of Brooks Farm Primero? 

Oh, I know the answer to this...


*Final selection: dusty rose and plum.  Tres chic.

The Age of Naptarius?

IMG_6025
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

Stop the presses: my child napped long enough for me to COMPLETE A PROJECT.  And now he might be napping long enough for me to blog about it.  Heady stuff. And it only took 5 months!*

Granted, it wasn't much of a project.  I had sacrificed a pair of old J. Crew jeans to patch some of Alex's (they always wear through at the crotch--[insert your own joke here]).  They never did much for me as pants, but perhaps they'd make a better skirt?  I won't bother telling you what I did, because I think we all tackled this one when we were in high school. I had to re-do the seams a few times to eliminate some unflattering bulges, but otherwise it was a quick and dirty job.

After Pete woke up I noticed that the thread in the machine was just the right color for his new smocked romper from Grammie, and he was gracious enough to allow me to make buttonholes and sew the buttons on.  So here we both are in our FOs, me and my obliging co-pilot.  I might whack the skirt off a bit; gotta give it a test-walk.

 

Choo!  Choo!

*Note to the Gods: I have no illusions about this ever happening again.  Please do not strike me napless.

My Most Favorite FO

Well, as usual the blogging isn't keeping up with production around here, but let's put all such lapses down to sleep deprivation for a while, shall we?  Because I'm happy to announce--the happiest I've ever been in my life, actually--that our baby boy Peter joined us on February the 13th, after 17 hours of labor and a big fat crappy C-section.  It wasn't the birth that we were aiming for, but I can't argue with the result:

8 pounds, 3 ounces of pure deliciousness. And not the dark-haired Monkeybaby we expected; it looks like my genes won out, as far as we can tell at this point.  (I couldn't understand why the nurses kept saying, "Where did he get that fair hair?" until I remembered to confess, "this isn't my natural color!")  Note the early introduction of handknits--very useful for covering the unsightly hospital Lo-jack.  Wool allergies, bah!
Here's a shot from after we were sprung from the clink hospital:

I'm wearing another FO, if you count iron-on letters--a t-shirt I made that reads, "Some of my best friends are reproductive endocrinologists."  (For those who missed the previews--Pete is the result of IVF cycle #3, after 2 years of infertility treatments.) In case you were wondering how many packs of letters it takes to get enough vowels for that: four.  I have a lot of w's and v's left over, if anyone wants to make shirts for a radio station's softball team or the like.

What else can I tell you about this booger?  Let's see: SWM, enjoys eating, sleeping, and long walks in the stroller.  Already I'm sad that he's lost his cord stump, and that the frosted effect of the hair over his left ear has started to fade.  Maternal nostalgia begins so soon!  I'm both eager to see the changes each day will bring, and desperate for him to stay just the way he is--utterly perfect.

Flora and fauna FOs

Here are two projects that definitely came from the "long-term" files, aka, "hey, you ever going to finish that?"  First, fauna: Kathy's adorable Sheldon reminded me that I finally gifted mine to my father-in-law, packed in a cardboard box punched with air holes.  For versimilitude, y'know.  Amazingly, he seemed genuinely delighted to be the recipient of a knitted stuffed animal.  But then, the man really, really likes turtles--he has two or three enormous, ancient creatures in his basement who he tends as lovingly as one would...well, something snugglier, with fur and/or opinions.  Turtles probably do have opinions, but I don't think they care to share them.

Anyway, here's my Sheldon!  Originally this was going to be a birthday present, back in July, but I got bogged down somewhere around assembly time. I just don't like to stuff things, for some reason.  Which is unfortunate, as I now have an enormous bag of Polyfil taking up some primo storage space.  And in my distaste for stuffing--or perhaps in bid to use it up faster--I overfilled the critter, so his Shel doesn't don very easily.  It's OK.  My father in law can live without the dress-up aspect.

The flora project has an even longer track record.  I bought some Amy Butler fabric from Purl Patchwork to make curtains...eh, over a year ago?  Then I got bogged down by the challenge of buying the appropriate hardware--I kept telling myself that this is New York, there's probably some funky little store that sells nothing but drapery hooks, but said emporium never materialized and it took me months to get off my dreaming arse and just order off the internet.  Oh, and there was a trip to Lowes involved--you see how these things can get ugly. Once I finally got everything assembled, though, they came together in just a day of vacation.  I used some instructions from an old issue of Living, which I realized midway throght involved several more steps than strictly necessary--oddly, sometimes the simplest way to explain something is not always the simplest way to do it.   

What else can I tell you about these?  Using my walking foot attachment was a must.  They block an awful lot of light--more than I would like now, but it will doubtless be a good thing come summer.  Hank and Minny like to screw with the cords.  Should have seen that one coming!

And finally, neither flora nor fauna, just plain cute: behold, young Master B. in his Pushover Pullover!  What did I tell you about those eyes? They're even bluer in real life.  His dad tells me that this sweater makes him irresistible cafe chick bait, but I doubt he needs any props.

Choosing the NOW

binding off
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

Thanks for the quick feedback on my dilemma! So much more than I deserve after letting this blog lie moribund for months on end. I agree that a contrast binding could look really rad--I'm thinking red, as usual--but in the end impatience won out. I wanted to finish this sucker, y'know? Coldn't even wait long enough to stop by a yarn store or dig through my stash. So I chose a variation of option A: frogged back one repeat and bound off from there. The "variation" was that I was too impatient to put all those freakin' stitches back on my two circulars, so I left them live and picked up with two dpns as I went along.

A few of my Spiders found all those hundreds of loose loops a little disconcerting, but the Morehouse is pretty sticky and I only had to reach for my crochet hook once or twice. Though I will admit that this:

was a disaster waiting to happen--I quickly put down the camera and shooed him away!

I finished the edge last Friday, and now it needs blocking. Brooklyn Tweed promises that it blocks beautifully, and I sure hope he's right, because at the moment this circular afhgan is still distinctly conical. But since it's going to require a LOT of pins, and the cats have already expressed an interest in the yarn, my only potential blocking site is the sofabed in the "nursery" which is currently, ah, shall we say, inaccessible.

Ahem.  It's like Where's Waldo, only with large furnishings!

The Monkeybaby is kicking the bejeezus out of me today; I think he's getting bored.  That or he's a true New Yorker already--"Would you believe, there's only ONE closet in this cruddy little apartment, and I can't get the damn door open!"  Stay in just a little while longer, dude, we're busy out here.

Reality check

OK, after binding off about an eighth of the binky and seeing how much yarn that consumes--it's really more like three rows worth, because you make stitches, knit them, and then bind off--I forced myself to unwind my little clementine of yarn and get a rough measurement.  14 yards, give or take.  To work more than 400 stitches.  NOT HAPPENING.  So please, wise knitters, tell me what you would do:

A) Frog back one pattern repeat (5 rows), put the 480-ish stitches back on the circs, and bind off as the pattern dictates.

B) Frog back what I've bound off so far, bind off plain, and pray.

C) Frog back what's been bound off thus far and bind off as pattern dictates, in a contrast color.

D) Try to guess what kind of Morehouse this is, order another skein, hope it matches, and hope I still have the gumption to finish once it arrives.