a sweater for diddlebug

We were on vacation last week, hence the brief hiatus here on Mad Knitting. Stu and the kids and I went to a state park in Virginia, where we met my parents, his parents, my brother, and his brother and wife and kid. We stayed in brand-new cabins that were gorgeous and far, far from rustic (they were air-conditioned, well-stocked with nice new cookware, and there was even soap and mouthwash like in a hotel). The weather was perfect. There was a beach. We went hiking. And I even made it to a yarn shop, though I didn't buy anything except a pair of those new Addi lace needles, to try them out. (I haven't yet, but I'll let you know when I do. They better be good, for $17 a pair.)

We met our nephew, adorable and adorably nicknamed "Diddlebug," for the first time. He'll be a year old tomorrow, so we had a little celebration with cake and presents and everything. Of course I knitted him a sweater. And of course I also gave him a little book because as much as parents appreciate and love those hand-made gifts, the kids really couldn't care less if it's not a toy!

Unfortunately, I was in such a rush packing for the trip that I didn't get very good pictures. This is the best I could do late at night in the kitchen...




Pattern: 26" circumference child's saddle-shouldered sweater from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. I added a 4-stitch cable up the sleeves/shoulders to keep it interesting.
Yarn: Patons Beehive double-knitting, about 3 skeins
Needles: size 3 and 6. The 6s gave me a gauge of 24 st = 4"
Comments: The yarn, while soft in the skein, has acrylic in it, so it's not as nice to knit with as pure wool. However, it can be machine-washed and dried, which is really good for toddlers. Also, I really liked the light denim-blue (which doesn't show up very well in the picture.) I've made this size sweater from the Handy Sweater Book before, and I knew that if I made the arms the length she calls for, the sweater would have been more appropriate for a baby gorilla, so I chopped an inch off the sleeves and made the body a little longer.

finished: slouch socks for steph

Finally, I can reveal some of the gift knitting I've been up to! Steph's birthday was Wednesday. Somewhat unintentionally, I've made it a tradition of the last few years to make her socks. They've all been a little unusual, too. First I made the striped knee socks from Stitch 'n Bitch (long before I was a blogger), then I made outlandishly striped socks in Gryffindor colors (before I was a knitblogger), last year there were the organic cotton spa sox, and today I present you with...



Slouch Socks!

I think it's funny how my calves look fat in this next picture. I have scrawny little bird legs, not the shapely, muscular runner's legs I long for (though if I ran more that might help), so it must all be the camera angle.





This picture is a failed attempt at being artsy with the photography. (I really shouldn't do that; mostly I end up with silly or confusing pictures, like this one. Still, it's the best representation of the color of the yarn.



Pattern: Slouch Socks from Erika Knight's Classic Knits
Yarn: Berocco Pure Merino in a sort of deep rose color
Needles: size 8 (5 mm) DPNs for the ribbing, size 7 (4.5 mm) DPNs for the rest
Comments: The pattern in the book was really weird because the socks are knit flat back and forth, then sewn up. I didn't understand at all what she was doing with the heel, for instance. Fortunately, I've knit enough socks that adapting them to knitting in the round and doing traditional heels and toes was a piece of cake. The final result is comfy and squishy and perfect (I think) for Steph.
I'm not wild about the yarn, honestly. It's soft and squishy and makes for a nice final product, but Berocco pure merino is superwash, which makes it great for socks, but it's also kind of heavy and slippery. I'd be afraid to make a whole sweater with it because I think it's the kind of yarn that could grow and grow. I'm glad I tried it out on a smaller project.

do knitters like pizza?

Yesterday I posted a pizza tutorial on Madtown Mama. If you like homemade pizza, go check it out!

mothers' day

Happy Mothers' Day to everyone out there who is a mother, is about to be a mother, wants to be a mother, is trying to be a mother, is waiting to be an adoptive mother. This is your day.

And mine. I got to sleep in this morning and except for our special pancake breakfast, I didn't have to cook. We also had a busy morning, as we were invited to a friend's baby's baptism and brunch afterwards. Tonight Stuart has an exam, so he's been studying, so all this adds up to no knitting for me today. However, I did have a few minutes to myself just now when Anya went to sleep for a late afternoon catnap, and Stu and Daniel are out picking up Thai food for dinner (mmmmm....curry, mmmm....pad thai)...so I decided to wind a bit of yarn.



Deliciously soft, alpaca/silk blend in fingering weight. It will be a simple lace scarf for a friend. She's not a knitter, but it's possible she lurks here, so that's all I'll say for now.

the new IK, sigh

I dunno. I'm thinking I might let my Interweave Knits subscription run out without renewing. Because my reaction to the latest issue? Meh. Of course, I'm hard to please when it comes to summer knits anyway; the linen print skirt notwithstanding, I'm pretty much a knit-big-fat-cables-with-all-wool kind of gal. But still, all the colorwork in tans and teals? All the floppy-sleeved t-shirts? Those just weren't doing it for me. I would look terrible in just about everything in the summer issue. (If you click on teh link above, you can see pictures of all projects in the current issue.) The Apres Surf Hoodie and Gossamer Stars scarf are all right, and the articles are good, especially Franklin's history of Schoolhouse Press. Maybe it's worth continuing my subscription just for the articles, because they're usually pretty good. In any case, I've got enough projects going and planned to keep me going for a while, whether I'm getting new magazines or not.

I'm finishing things, I really am, but I can't show them yet. Instead, here is a really boring picture:



Garter stitch squares, 8"x8". This is truly mindless knitting, knitting I take in the car when we're all going grocery shopping, knitting I take down to the basement when Daniel wants to play, knitting I can pick up and put down without even looking at it. I'm using up some leftover Lamb's Pride Worsted to make a baby blanket for AFA. I have no deadline in mind; I think they take baby blankets any time. I am in no hurry on this project. I don't have a way to use up the yarn otherwise, but I want it out of my stash, so this is what I'm doing with it. I've got darks (deep purple, black, gray) and brights (mostly red, also some orange Cascade 220 that I can toss in there), and I plan to sew it all up patchwork-style. Simple. Boring. Just what I need for all that in-between time.

And oh, what the heck. Here's a teaser for the gift knitting I keep not talking about. Just to prove I've been doing it.

rasta baby

This is Anya sporting the hat my mom made her this spring. I've already put it on the blog, actually, but these pictures are better. It's sized a little generously for now (which is good, since she can keep wearing it in the fall), and I think it looks like a little rasta hat. It's a cotton/wool blend (Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece), and perfect for these cool, windy spring days.