The world is right again

I have more than one WIP! First, I finished the Pea Pod:



I love that pattern.

No pics yet of the new WIP, just notes on what I've done so far:

Cascade 220 & Mystery Yarn, sz 7 circs (KP options)
Gauge: 9 sts/inch
CO 180
All stitches slipped purlwise, wyib
Round 1: *K1, Sl1*
Round 2: *P1, K1*

I'll be at that for a while...

Baylie's scarf

At Thanksgiving dinner, my niece asked me to make her a scarf to match her new hat and gloves. At first she just asked for brown and pink, but when I looked at the hat I realized it was actually brown striped with light pink, a darker berry-purpley-pink, and cream. I toyed around with several different ways of incorporating all these colors and finally settled on a length-wise stripe pattern. I think it turned out pretty well.



Finished size: approximately 58" by 3" (it's a little longer than I was aiming for, but no biggie)

Gauge: approximately 2.5 stitches per inch, but it's not crucial. It's just a scarf.

Needles: US 15 (I used two cables from my Boye Needlemaster set to make one really long cable)

Yarns:

MC: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in 129 Cocoa
CC1: Red Heart Soft Yarn in 3729 Grape
CC2: Jo-Ann Sensations Tesoro in 954 Pink
CC3: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in 99 Fisherman

I estimate that it took about 160 yards of MC, and maybe 20-25 yards of each CC. All yarn was held doubled.

CO 150. Follow stripe pattern:

2 rows MC
2 rows CC1
2 rows MC
2 rows CC2
2 rows MC
2 rows CC3
2 rows MC

Bind off. (I used *K2tog tbl, slip stitch back to L needle*)

Unfortunately, I should have knit one more row in MC before binding off, because it wound up looking a little lopsided. But I don't think she'll notice. All in all, it took about 4-5 hours, and I think she'll like it. I also think I have enough of the MC left to make her Build-A-Bear a matching scarf.

Vino Bello

A couple of months ago I submitted a pattern for winter Knitty. It was my first attempt at such a bold endeavor, and I've been waiting on pins and needles ever since. I got my response today, and sadly I was not accepted. I wasn't really expecting to be chosen...after all, I'm sure they get hundreds of patterns every issue. I was just hoping, you know? Anyway, I don't see the point in hoarding the pattern for myself, so I'm posting it here (and will be linking the pattern to Ravelry as soon as I'm done). I hope Knitty doesn't mind me leaving it in their format. I don't have anywhere to upload a PDF right now, but I can email it upon request.



(More pictures available here.)

copyright 2007 Merin McManus. Pattern is free for personal use - you may not profit from it in any way without the author's express written permission.

Vino Bello is a deceptively simple, quick-to-knit wine bottle bag. Saturday evening soirée? Cast on Saturday morning, and swing by the liquor store on your way to the party. The yarn is lovely and drapey, and the finished product is, in my opinion, way classier than the paper wine bottle bags and boxes sold in stores. No one has to know that it only took you a few hours to make! Substitute a variety of yarns for a variety of results - I'm sure it would look equally great in a cushy chenille, or perhaps even a fuzzy mohair. The small yardage required makes it an ideal project for using that one skein of luscious yarn you just had to have. Choose anything that will have a nice, soft drape at the intended gauge.

Pattern utilizes the diagonal mosaic stitch pattern in Vogue Stitchionary (modified to work in the round).

Photo credit
Model: Gewürztraminer by Fetzer Vineyards
photos: Merin McManus
Shot at Woodward Park and Tulsa Rose Gardens in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SIZE
One (the pictured bottle is 9.5 inches in circumference at its widest point, and 13 inches tall from the base to the top of the neck, cork not included)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 12 inches (laid flat)
Circumference: approx. 9 inches

MATERIALS
[MC] Berroco Ultra Silk [20% silk/40% rayon/40% nylon; 98 yd/90 m per 50g skein]; color: 6147; 1 ball

1 set US #8/5.25 mm double-point needles

notions required
tapestry needle
a yard (or so) of coordinating ribbon (or anything else) to use as a tie
4 stitch markers (optional)

GAUGE
20 sts/24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
One ball is JUST enough to finish this project as written. I ended up with 8-10 feet (at most) leftover, which I cut in to four equal lengths and used as a tie. If you a) would like to make a matching I-cord tie, b) have a burning desire to keep your gauge swatch, or c) are otherwise uncomfortable with that little room for error, pick up two skeins, preferably from a LYS with a return policy for unused balls. If you want to make several, purchase one ball per bag, and then get one extra ball for good measure. The pattern could also easily be reversed and worked from the bottom up so that you could simply stop when you're nearly out of yarn.

Gauge is not crucial, as the finished product will stretch considerably in all directions, but if you are knitting too loosely you will risk running out of yarn.

PATTERN
CO 48 sts. Divide sts evenly between 3 double-point needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist. (You may, if you desire, divide the sts between 4 DPNs instead. I only recommend 3 because you will end up with one pattern repeat per needle, eliminating the need for stitch markers to mark the repeats.)

Round 1 and all odd numbered rounds: *K*
Round 2: *K2, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1*
Round 4: *K3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2*
Round 6: *K4, yo, ssk, k4, yo, k3tog, yo, k3*
Round 8: *K5, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k3*
Round 10: *K3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k2*
Round 12: *K2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k1*
Round 14: *K1, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk*
Round 16: *K3tog, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4, yo*
Round 18: *YO, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog*
Round 20: *K4, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo*
Round 22: *K3, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, k3tog, yo, k1*
Round 24: *K2, k2tog, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2*
Round 26: *K1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, k3*
Round 28: *K2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k4*
Round 30: *YO, k5, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k4, k2tog*
Round 32: *K1, yo, ssk, k4, yo, k3tog, yo, k4, k2tog, yo*

Repeat rows 1-32 once more.

Knit two rounds even.

At this point, since the decrease repeats four times per round, you may wish to redistribute the stitches on four needles. That way, you will simply be knitting two together at the end of each needle, again eliminating the need for stitch markers.

Begin decreases:

Round 1: *K10, k2tog* (44 sts)
Round 2: *K*
Round 3: *K9, k2tog* (40 sts)
Round 4: *K*
Round 5: *K8, k2tog* (36 sts)
Round 6: *K7, k2tog* (32 sts)
Round 7: *K6, k2tog* (28 sts)
Round 8: *K5, k2tog* (24 sts)
Round 9: *K4, k2tog* (20 sts)
Round 10: *K3, k2tog* (16 sts)
Round 11: *K2, k2tog* (12 sts)
Round 12: *K1, k2tog* (8 sts)

FINISHING
Break yarn. Draw tail through remaining stitches and cinch closed. Weave in ends.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Merin and her husband live in Oklahoma with their cat. She works primarily to support her yarn habit, and longs for the day when she can quit her job and become a lady of leisure. Every once in a while, she remembers she has a blog and posts something.

A new project

Mr. Nekkid has been asking for a sweater for a while. I bought the yarn a few months ago, and it has been in dustproof, mothproof, catproof storage (aka the kind of plastic bag a set of sheets comes in) ever since. I'm not sure what came over me Friday night, but I suddenly HAD to swatch for it. And now, with some help from Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Knitting Without Tears, I am attempting to make a patternless, seamless sweater.

Here's what I'm working with:
- 7 skeins Patons Classic Wool in black
- 1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Grey (for a stripe across the chest)
- US #8 circular needles
- 5 stitches to the inch in stockinette
- 200 stitches cast on

I started off with 10 rows of 2x2 ribbing. Well, I intended to, anyway, but I forgot until I had a good 40-50 knit stitches on the first row...so the first row is knit, then the next 9 are in 2x2 ribbing. Thankfully, I don't think this is noticeable.

Once past the ribbing, the stockinette began. This picture shows where I stopped last night:



Sadly, black knitting doesn't photograph all that well, but you get the idea. That's probably a good 3,000 stitches right there...and I think I've nearly done that much again today. If I can keep this momentum going, maybe, just maybe, I'll have it done in time for our anniversary, which is in four weeks.

Oh yes, I also came up with a variation on my baby bib (pattern here). Instead of incorporating buttonholes into the strap, just knit it straight until it's long enough. Sew the button onto the strap, then use the eyelets on the body of the bib as buttonholes.

Catching up

I knew it had been a while, but three months! Sheesh. Anyway, I've finished quite a few projects, so this is pretty photo-heavy.





Set of four washcloths for a baby at Mr. Nekkid's work. The larger ones are a pattern I made up myself (3 stitch garter border with stockinette in the middle); the smaller ones are from the Chinese Waves pattern.




Washcloth and bib set for a baby at my workplace. Washcloth is Grandmother's Favorite, and the bib is inspired by that (pattern down below).






Washcloth/bib and Pea Pod Baby Sweater (Rowan Cashsoft DK baby yarn, don't remember the needle size). These are for my best friend's baby.




Set of three washcloths for expectant mum #1 at my mailbox facility. Another Grandmother's Favorite, another Chinese Waves, and a truncated version of Alex's Cloth.




Clapotis in progress. I cannot remember the yarn offhand; I think it came from http://www.handpaintedyarn.com. I think I'm on repeat #4 of the center section.




Om Yoga Bag from SnB Nation. Some random Sugar 'n Cream I had on hand.

All waschloths made from kitchen cotton on US #9 needles.

Grandmother's Favorite Baby Bib
Pattern (c) 2007 Merin McManus
~2 oz. worsted cotton yarn (Sugar 'n Cream, Peaches 'n Cream, Lion Cotton)
US #7 8 or 9 needles
3/4" button
Gauge is not crucial
Pattern inspired by Grandmother's Favorite Washcloth and Simple Baby Bib.

Cast on 4 stitches.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K2, YO, *K*
Repeat row 2 until you have 44 stitches.
K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, *K*
Repeat this row until you have 25 stitches.
Bind off 20 stitches, 5 stitches left.
Knit every row of these 5 stitches until the strap is 7-8" long.
Buttonhole row: K2, YO, K2tog, K1
Knit next 5 rows.
Repeat buttonhole row.
Knit next 5 rows.
Repeat buttonhole row.
Knit next 5 rows.
Bind off. Sew button.

EDIT 1/6/09: Variation (that several Ravelers have already figured out for themselves, but that I wanted to share because it is somewhat easier): Instead of buttonhole rows, knit the strap to the desired length and bind off. Sew the button on to the strap and use the YOs in the bib as buttonholes. Et voila! Saves a few steps. :)

AFK...night!