On the first day of my new job I started in February, I learned that my supervisor was pregnant with her first baby, due in September. It's been really nice seeing her grow, and she learned that she's having a girl. So, being me, I knit her a Baby Sophisticate. I didn't want to give it to her for her office baby shower because I'm still pretty shy about what I knit, but I gave it to her about a week after. As far as the pattern goes, I didn't have any issues. It's all basic knitting, very simple, but also very beautiful. Relaxing on some of its kin. The collar's a shawl collar, which was new for me, but it's all short rows and basically magic. And, of course, the sweater's a raglan. I really like the way the raglan increases came out. The stitches look a lot more even than some other raglans I've made. More closer. I had a pleasant time making this little jewel. I hope it keeps Ashlyn toasty warm this winter. Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in purple Needles - Boye size 8 circs and dpk Four brown plastic buttons

I read manga, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Okay, maybe I'm just a little bit shy about it. But I can say it on the internet because I can't see you roll your eyes and snort at me. So I read manga, and one of my favorite manga is called Ouran High School Host Club. Why is this relevant to my knitting? Because in one of the arcs, Haruhi and her classmates go to the mountains to ski for their class trip. Where there's snow, there's protective outerwear, and sometimes even knitted protective outerwear. When I first read this particular chapter, I got really excited when I saw the following panel: [From Ouran High School Host Club, art and story by Hatori Bisco, Volume 13, chapter 60, unfortunately used without permission, but I hope I can be forgiven. They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...] I got really excited because Haruhi is wearing a cabled earflap hat. I knew as soon as I saw that panel that I was going to make that hat. The only thing was...things were...that I'd never made a hat without a pattern before, that I didn't know what sort of cable that was, that I was going to have to come up with something on my own. Upon further inspection of the chapter, I found a few more panels with different views of Haruhi in the hat, and so I was able to decide my course of action. Firstly, I had to figure out what the heck kind of cables those are. After some research, I decided that probably they were horseshoe cables. After that, I tried to find a pattern that had horseshoe cables that I liked [and also had easy directions], and I dug up a wonderful pattern for Bella's mittens from the Twilight movie [however much it pains me to admit it]. So I had the cables. Now I needed a hat pattern. I didn't follow any particular hat pattern, but I did reference Knitty's Swell and Knitty's Cross Country, not only for the head part of the hat, but also for the earflaps and applied i-cord finishing around the rim. Honestly I can say that this hat is probably one of the projects that I'm most proud of. Now that I've got all the explaining out of the way, on to the pictures. Relaxing on some of it's kin. On my big head. Detail of the yummy cables. Detail of the really terrible and unskilled seaming in the back, the only thing I don't like about the whole project. No matter how many times I tried, it still came out like that. Probably it would have been better if I left both ends live [or picked up stitches on the cast-on edge] and grafted them both together, but seeing as I literally thought of that just now, I just did a crappy job at that. Maybe next time. Earflap, made quite similarly to the flags of Patrick's and Penelope's names. And lastly, a picture of the braids: The only thing that's missing is a pom-pom at the top, but I don't know how to make those. Maybe I'll get around to it one day, but I kind of like the hat the way it is now. Thank you very much to Hatori-sensei for the inspiration, and to everyone I've linked for the unwitting help they've given! Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Wool in white Needles - CPY size 7 bamboo dpk

That's right, sock singular. For a while, I've been thinking of making a pair of knee socks. Since I now have an eight-to-five and half of my wardrobe bottoms are skirts, I thought that I could wear my skirts even in the dead of our winter if I had knee socks. And yes, of course, I could buy them, but I could also knit them. I haven't yet decided if I want to knit just plain old tall socks or something elaborate like Knitty's Clessidra. In the meantime, though, I decided to follow this pattern just to see how it would turn out. Since this was a test and nothing that I was actually going to wear, I used what left over yarn I had from my Thermal, which is why there's only one sock. I didn't have enough to make two. Onward. Look at that awesome hole! I forgot one of the most important rules of knitting in the round: always slip the last stitch over the first stitch when beginning a new section to avoid holes. The back, where you can sort of see the giant V made by the increases. Little bitty ribbing. Since I'm starting school and also have a full-time job, two children, and a husband, probably I won't have time to do the more elaborate socks, if I even have time to do socks at all. But I like the one that I made. Stats: Yarn - KnitPicks Gloss in burgandy Needles - plastic size 3 dpk

Since I've always had success using this guide to make Patrick's sweaters, I thought I'd try my hand using it to make a custom raglan for myself. So I got JD to help me measure myself, did all the math [!!!], and started knitting. Actually, way before any of this, I went to Inishbofin, Ireland, and bought a hand-knit sweater. This sweater was made by a little old lady, whom I met, out of yarn made from the island's sheep, some of which are pictured below: Awwwwww, so cute! Any road, I hadn't worn the sweater since the day I bought it because it didn't fit [go figure]. One day, years later I was rearranging my closet and decided that, instead of just moving the sweater from one place to another, I would attempt to dismantle and unravel it and make my own sweater. So, after a couple of weeks of fiddling with the yarn and making it into balls, I did the measurements and the math and started knitting. The finished product is my Bofin sweater. Onward: Amazingly, or maybe not, this sweater fits me! I even decreased a bit for my waist and increased back for my hips. Unfortunately, I haven't worn this yet because it never got cold enough this past winter. I will, though, if ever it gets cold. The yarn is very rough and scratchy, but it'll be fine if I wear a thin shirt underneath it. Detail of the beautiful flecks. Stats: Yarn - Inishbofin wool Needles - Boye size 8 circs and dpk

Even though I have a problem making sweaters for myself, I'm always on the lookout for adult women sweater patterns. And so, when I first saw the pattern for the February Lady Sweater, I knew that I would surely try it. So I did. And, like normal, I didn't like the way it turned out. However, I don't think it was completely a matter of me measuring myself wrong this time, but instead more my choice of yarn. If ever I make it again, I'll make it with dk weight instead of worsted weight yarn, or use smaller sized needles. Even though I don't like the way mine came out, I really enjoyed knitting it. I normally don't like lace, but this feather and fan pattern was easy to follow and not overly involved. Hanging around. Detail of the feather and fan lacework. Stats: Yarn - Caron Simply Soft in purple Needles - Boye size 9 circs

From the moment I saw Knitty's Danica, I knew that I had to make it. I mean, look at it. It still makes me drool when I see it. Any road, the first one I made was for my mom, and I used the yarn I had left over after I made Kon. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it before I gave it to her. When I was making it, all Patrick would say is that he wanted a scarf like Grandma's, so I decided to make him one for Christmas with the yarn I had left over from my argyle vest. When I was making it, I didn't tell him what it was for, so when he opened it for Christmas, he was pretty happy. Actually, I have some pictures of that! Mainly, I just wanted to show how hilarious Patrick is. He kept those bows on his face as long as he could that morning. Any road, below are more recent pictures: Happy customer. It's like magic, but it's so easy to do! The secrets behind the magic. P for Patrick! Stats: Yarn - KnitPicks Telemark in deep navy and northern green Needles - my favorite plastic size 6 dpk's

I was given a Stitch 'n Bitch day-by-day knitting calendar for 2008, which had lots of knitting tips, stories and, of course, patterns. I made a version of their Swing Sweater [the only place I could find any mention of the pattern or pictures of the sweater was on Ravelry, and you have to be a member to view anything. Sorry about that. If you're reading this and you're crafty, or just appreciate beautiful knitted things, join and a wonderful world will open to you]. had most of a ball left over from Patrick's robot sweater, so I used that even though it's a different weight than the one called for. Still, I thought it came out nicely despite the change. Onward. Hanging around. You'll notice the two blue stripes on the right sleeve. I was afraid I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish the sleeve without those extra three rounds of blue, and I was right. And I think that sleeve might be a round or two shorter than the other, despite the addition. Any road, I thought it turned out cute. Detail of the cables. Cables and stripes. Like everything else, Penelope's grown out of this cardigan, which is the reason for no action short. But let me tell you, it was super cute when it was on her. Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in green and blue Needles - I'm not really sure, I knit this so quickly that I don't remember

Patrick's third hand-knit sweater, made from the same guide as the other two. The only structrual change I made was the v-neck, and I stitched a surprise on the back. This one, like the other two, is both well-loved and too small for Patrick. Front, showing the v-neck. Surprise! It's a robot! Detail of the v-neck, of which I'm quite proud. I picked up stitches in front of the tip and also in back and sewed the selvage edge to the sweater. That made it even easier for Patrick to get it on and off. Detail of the robot. Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in green and blue Needles - size 7 circs and size 6 for the ribbing

Look at this pattern. Oh. My. Goodness. ARGYLE. SWEATER. VEST. This sweater vest is a continuation of my habit of making sweaters that are not only too big, but that nearly swallow me. How can I not measure myself correctly?! I was extremely disappointed when I was finished. I enjoyed making it so much, so very much, that I'm really considering making it again after *cross my fingers and squint my eyes* JD measures me correctly. Because of the poor fit, I'm too embarrassed to have taken any action shots. But scroll down for amazing, beautiful argyle awesomeness. Look! Even the inside is amazing! If it's not evident, I loved knitting this. I really really wish I had made it to fit me. Next time, and I'm sure there will be a next time for this, I will get it right. Stats: Yarn - KnitPicks Telemark in deep navy, northern green, and persimmon heather Needles - plastic size 4 and 2 circs

Since both Patrick and JD have a monkey, I decided to make our new addition a monkey as well. However much I practice seaming, sometimes it just doesn't come out right. I tried and tried, but the arms and head gave me problems. Penelope's monkey doesn't have eyes [I didn't have any black yarn] nor a tail [I didn't feel like making one]. Actually, he disappeared for some months, and recently reappeared with his right arm disattached. I sewed his arm back on and gave him to Penelope, and she squealed and gave him a hug. Awwwwww. Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Wool-Ease in gray and cream [more leftovers from JD's Mangyle!] Needles - Not a clue

When I finished with JD's Mangyle, I had a whole ball of the gray color left over. After eyeing the pattern for quite literally years, I decided to use it to make a pair of Dashings. This was just about the most perfect pattern ever. It's small, it's round knitting [which I love], and it's got just enough cables that I'm satisfied and not driven crazy. Onward. On my arms. Detail of the cables. I'm quite proud of the thumb gussets, though you can't really see them. These mitts are so comfy and soft. They're actually quite perfect for our winters down here, where the mornings are cold but the afternoons are warm. I can wear a short sleeved shirt with these and my jacket in the morning, and then still be comfortable all day. Stats: Yarn - Lion Bran Wool-Ease in gray Needles - CPY size 7 dpk

When my hair is long, I want it short. When my hair is short, I want it long. So, when I feel the urge for short hair so strongly that I wantonly go out and get it cut off, I immediatly miss my long hair and spend the next three years growing it out again. I don't like wearing hats a lot during the winter because I wear my hair in a ponytail when it gets to be long enough [and the following two and a half years], and hats and ponytails don't really go together well. So when I saw Knitty's Calormetry, I thought that it would be a nice solution - something cozy for my ears, but something I won't have to keep messing with my hair to wear. Plus, I was very intrigued by short rows in general after having read many magical things about the technique. This pattern uses short rows, and it's small enough that it's not a lot of time wasted if I effed up the short rows. Relaxing on some of it's kin. Detail of the short rows. I love and hate short rows. I love the way they work [they are indeed magical], but I hate actually doing them. It's not a difficult technique by any means, but there's a lot of back-and-forth, back-and-forth that it doesn't take long for me to get a bit lost. Buttoned. I love the combination of that button with the heathery, grainy yarn. On my big ole head. Even though I have what JD calls a fivehead, it seems that my Calormetry is too wide for my head. If ever I made another one, I'll knit less rows before starting the short rows. Remember that, Ashley, less rows. Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Wool-Ease? I'm pretty sure it was Wool-Ease, but I can't remember the name. Needles - My favorite, CPY size 8 bamboo straights

I love my husband very much. I also love to knit very much. I've tried to comine the two, but it just doesn't work out because JD doesn't like to wear knitwear. However, I showed him Knitty's Mangyle, and he said that if I knit it for him, he would wear it. I made it, and he's worn it - once. Again, I knit most of this at work. I have very clear memories of being very pregnant, sitting down and knitting, listening to 80's Muzak, and not being interrupted for quite literally hours. It was very nice because this was my first foray into Fair Isle colorwork, and though it was a little difficult for me in the beginning, I had lots of quiet time to work out the technique and discover the easist way for me. Like most things from Knitty, the pattern was clear and easy to understand, and the result is beautiful...I mean, manly. Hanging around. Again, no action shot. Like I said, JD's only worn it once, and he didn't volunteer to model it when I was taking pictures. Detail of the argyle. Oh, how I loved that! I'm quite proud of the neck decreases in the argyle. Mostly when I was knitting this, it was after eight at night, which is getting on in the evening for me, so me actually decreasing in pattern was quite a feat. The little surprise on the back! Detail! Stats: Yarn - Lion Brand Wool-Ease in dark gray, green, and white. JD chose the colors, but I chose the yarn. I love love love Wool-Ease, it's so soft and squishy, but also very light to knit with. Needles - Honestly, I can't remember.

So I made a sweater for Patrick when he was two and a half, and I made the same sweater for him when he was three and a half from the same guide. I asked him what color he wanted, and he said green. When we got to Hobby Lobby, he decided he wanted blue. So it's blue. It's also very well-loved. Hanging around. I don't have any action shots because it doesn't fit on Patrick anymore. Which is really sad. When I was digging around to find all the things I've knit, I found the gray one and I showed it to Patrick. He said, 'Momma, I'm WAY too big for that sweater now. You should make me a new one.' He said the same thing about the other sweaters I've made him. Close up of the raglan increases and the neckline. I had problems with this and the last sweater I made for Patrick with the neck. Either his head is awfully big, which is true, or I bound off too tightly, which is also true. As you will see, the next sweater I made him has a v-neck, which alleviates the problem. All in all, I love making raglans for Patrick. The guide I follow is easy to understand, and the project's small enough that I don't get bored. And Patrick loves them. Stats: Yarn - Caron Simply Soft in some blue color. Needles - Boye size 8 circulars and dpk's,

I was poking around on the internet looking for baby things, basically looking for a pattern to look forward to when I got finished trudging through the blanket, when I found a pattern for knitted bunting which are, apparently, knit flags with letters duplicate stitched on. As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew I wanted to make them with the kids' names to hang above their beds. And so I did. I worked on this mainly at work when I worked at the hotel. It was nice busy work - small, not really hard to figure out where I was if I got interrupted, no complicated construction. I loved making these, I really did. PATRICK. PENELOPE. A close up of some of the flags. I made all of the flags for both names before I stitched the letters on, and then I attached them all with applied i-cord. Close up of the decreases and duplicate stitching. I'm quite proud of the decreases. I'm not going to go into it in-depth, but I knit stupidly and it's hard to do decreases and increases correctly. Not hard like physically hard, but I have to stop and think with every decrease or increase, 'Okay, I'm knitting like this, so I have to do this and this to make the decrease look the way it's supposed to look.' The duplicate stitching on Patrick's name is admittedly awful because I did his first, but I got it better with Penelope's. Stats: Yarn: Sugar n' Cream in cream, green, and light purple. I really don't think I kept the label, but I wish I did just to keep the color names. Needles: CPY bamboo size 8 straights

Two years ago this week, we found out that our new little babeh due that coming November was to be a girl. And so, I started knitting the following blanket. The pattern I used is actually from a small pattern book JD found while checking out at Wal-Mart one day titled 'Knitting for Babies,' but it's the same pattern. The pattern calls for some pinky color they call melon, but I wanted to wait until we found out the baby's sex and use either green or orange for a boy or red for a girl. Onward: Hanging around. Close up of the awful, horrible tiny houndstooth stitch. But, however awful and horrible the stitch was: Penelope surely loves her blanket. And there she goes. This was the second blanket I knit, and it will be the last. Blankets are large, they're boring, and they take forever. I thought it wouldn't be so bad becuase there's two colors, but no, it was still bad! However, despite my apparently deep seeded hatred of knitting blankets, I felt I had to make a blanket for Penelope because Patrick also has a homemade blanket [a quilt, not made by me]. I'm glad I did. Maybe Penelope will keep it and give it to one of her babies. Stats: Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in white and red. Oh, how I love Caron Simply Soft. It's so...soft. And it gets softer in the wash. Mmmmm, snuggly. Needles: This evil blanket broke my favorite pair of plastic size 8 circulars, so I had to use some awful aluminium ones.

Well, it's been a while, but here I go. Also, everything before this point is hopelessly scrambled, and I don't particularly feel like deleting all the entries and reposting them in the correct order, roughly chronologically, or start over from scratch somewhere else. Forgive me, but I just cannot leave sitD. I love it with all my heart When I first started knitting, I sort of stumbled through learning the stitches. Once I got those down, and casting on and binding off, I bought myself a skein of Red Heart yarn and knit a ribbed scarf until the ball ran out. I figured I'd knit the whole thing because it would give me plenty of practice, and I was right. Oh, was it ever boring. I also discovered that I hate hate Red Heart yarn. It's scratchy and awful. I wrapped it around Patrick's neck four-ish times? Maybe five? The selvage on both sides is bumpy and uneven, the the stitches are mostly even and, from what I could tell from a quick inspection, there weren't any holes or missing stitches. All rolled up, lots and lots of times. It's streatched out a bit where you can see some of the rib-ness. This thing never gets used because it feels awful around my neck and it's twice my length, but it was my first real project that I actually finished, so I'm sure I'll lug it wherever I go. Stats: Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver, green.Needles: I have no idea, it was over four years since I made this.

When Patrick saw that I was knitting hats for the baby, he told me he wanted me to make one like his for the baby. His was made from leftover yarn from JD's Irish Hiking Scarf and was initially for JD himself, but it turned out too small. Patrick commendeered it for himself and loves it for some reason. I was digging around in my yarn bags the other day and found a little ball of leftover yarn from the first hat. It didn't look like enough for me to make a hat, but I figured I'd make it work because it would make Patrick happy. Here's the hat, the leftover yarn [a bit over twelve inches] and Patrick's hand for comparison. I just barely made it with the length. And here's Patrick with his own hat and the baby's. He was really happy with I finished it - he told me it was 'beautiful.' Awwwwwwwwww! Stats: Yarn - Vanna's Choice in rust Needles - CPY size 7's

One of my favorite manga/anime is Bleach. In the story, Kon is a silly and perverted but fiercely loyal and kind mod soul [kaizô konpaku]. At first, he resides in Ichigo's body and makes lots of trouble while Ichigo is doing his shinigami duties. However, while Ichigo's soul is in his body, he puts pill-form Kon into a stuffed animal he found on the ground one day. Kon's sassy personality certainly fits the image of a lion, but perhaps not a stuffed one. He proceeds to get 'abused' [dressed up by one of Ichigo's sisters, sewn into a vision of Marie Antoinette by an ally] and taken for granted, which leads to the comedy relief for the series. Of course, since I'm a knitter, it dawned on me one day while reading the manga, 'Word, I should knit Kon. That would be awesome!' That was over a year ago. Now, however, I have confidence enough in my skill that I could make up my own version of Kon that I would be satisfied with. Here's the photo that I relied on for inspiration: And here is my sort of ragged interpretation: Kon originally didn't have that blue cross on the back of his head, but when he was resewen one time after getting torn up and dirty, Ishida [who is a Quincy, whose symbol is a blue cross] put it there because Kon was getting on his nerves. No one ever told Kon, so he's completely unwitting. As far as the pleasure factor goes, I had a great time making his appendages and body, but his head pissed me off, all aspects of it. I didn't make it big enough, I couldn't figure out the best way to make his mane how I wanted it, I misplaced his eyes, his nose and mouth are weird. The only things I like about his head are the cross on the back and his ears. Overall, though, I'm quite pleased with my Kon. He's going to stay in the car with me, I think. Stats: Yarn - KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, colors daffodil, cloud, chocolate, and winter night, and Sugar n' Cream in black and white for his eyes, nose, mouth, and claws. Needles - CPY 7 dpn's One large white button Polyfil stuffing

I've always wanted just a plain, V-neck cardigan, but I could never find one that was right, that I liked. Then I found Basic Black and knew that it was just was I had been looking for. Except, not in black. Instead, in green. I had a little crisis at the very end of the process. I ran out of yarn with two rows on the front button band left to go. I gnashed my teeth for a week about that. I had to order a whole other ball of yarn for about two yards at the very most that I was going to use. I'm fine now, but I was mad at myself for not conserving in the first place. Like I could have known. Any road, I'm very pleased with the end result. I'm going to wear it to work tomorrow, which is also, coincidentally, St. Patrick's Day, and I'm very excited to see how it wears. Front view. I need to learn how to attach buttons with back loops instead of the holes in the middle. That way, maybe the buttons won't threaten to slide out of their holes like the second one from the top. This pattern had waist shaping, and it was only after I was done with the body pieces and working on the sleeves did I learn that I should have measured myself to place the shaping correctly. It was much too late by then to rip the pieces and start over, so I did what I normally do in situations like this--hoped it fit. And it does fit. I'm so so happy with it, except for-- --the sleeves. They're really baggy at the top, but I don't know if I measured wrong or if I just don't know how to set in sleeves. In any event, I still lo----ve my cardigan. Stats: Yarn - KnitPicks Shine Sport, nine balls and a bit from the tenth, grrr...The yarn is a cotton and nylon blend so even though the cardigan is a knit, it'll still be all right to wear outside of winter. Needles - size 6 Boye straights and size 4's for the ribbing. Buttons - 5 Celtic knot buttons. The Irish theme of the cardigan is very unintentional. I just didn't think regular buttons would fit with the color, and I found a rack of silver buttons at Wal-Mart. Those were the cutest.