So I Knit Too...

It has been one L-A-A-A-Z-Y Saturday for me. Sorry people who work 7-days a week (Alfred, Andy, Richard). I have done nothing but blogstalk and slowly but surely watch, as I get NO votes for the You Knit Too Much contest (I'm #5, okay). Ce la vi. I did dig up some knitting pictures though.

The Icebreaker Beanie that Tim brought home sometime in February influenced these puppies.

I am a novice knitter. I go for easy over complicated any chance I get. I’ve knit more scarves than I can count…well, no, I think I can count them, and they all have one thing in common: garter stitch galore.

I had “experimented” with a pattern and a design only once before. There is a WIP in storage in my mom’s house in LA that I began…4 years ago…a “sweater.” Due to the fact that I was in Mexico at the time, I did not seek out any wool or even any acrylic, as I’d roast myself donning a SWEATER in COASTAL (read as TROPICAL) Mexico. So I used cotton. Do you have any idea how much moisture cotton absorbs? Of course you do. It was a heavy and damp project. Then I moved in Hilo Hawai’i. Um, 132 inches of rain a year. Yes, well, that’s about when I sealed it in a plastic bag and put it into deep storage.

A beanie was my next move into the world of “no more garter stitch” as well as “no more rectangles.” These little guys are made from Lorna’s Laces Sock yarn in Pin Stripe, Layette, and Safari. I used 2.75mm needles and knit in stockingette stitch for miles and miles (the headband is folded under and knit into place). Then I did math (!) and figured out the gradual decreasing. I will not lie; I didn’t get it right the first time by a LOOOOONG shot. I have 2 “practice” beanies floating around somewhere to prove it. Yes, that’s right, they don’t even have pictures, and when I find them will probably be frogged so I can knit my stuffed dragon a sweater or something. Right. That black and grey one, that one was supposed to go to Andy. Ah, well, it was SO SMALL; I changed my mind and decided my nephew should get it. I purposely went out and bought the Layette (purple, yellow, etc) yarn to try to make a bigger one for my niece. Then, and only then, after figuring out those little things like GUAGE and how many decreases should go where and how…multiples of 4 people, that’s the clue, I endeavored Andy’s hat:

He wore it up Half Dome when we did a little road trip to Yosemite Nat'l Park in September. So I know the hats work! They keep people warm. No, I did not attempt the 17 mile hike of doom. I played at the bottom looking at dried up waterfalls and stuff.

After all the trials and tribulations I asked my brother if he wanted a hat too, I mean, may as well match the kids, right? And so the Camouflage was cast on:

And joined the crew:

And so now, after all this experimenting and moving on in the world of knitting, what am I attempting next? HA, can you believe, another scarf :), but this time for me. I originally began “Mom’s Sophisticated Scarf” from SnB Nation, but the yarn was too big too soon. I went from sock yarn with the beanies, to almost bulky…size US2 needles to US8. I couldn’t deal! So I put that aside and found some Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton on sale (US3 needle size) and yeah, I can handle this. Only, I’d returned the book to the library by then and so I’m kinda using the pattern, at least the edge stitches and basket weave pattern, but not the number of repeats or the interlude of k1 all the way across or p1 all the way between the sets of rows. Too complicated to keep track of when you’re trying to watch a movie.
And yes, that's right, I'm using stitch markers and giant pin(stitch holder?) to play the role of row-counter. Some people call me frugal, others cheap, whatevers. My nearest LYS is too far to drive to when the streets are all icy and icky, and it's worked so far....

So I just joined this ring, and if you could have sworn this pic wasn't here before, well, yeah, that's right, it wasn't... This is me manipulating time so I can have a gif on my sidebar, ain't the internet grande! You can time-travel too :)