Bootie Bootie Bootie Bootie Rockin' Everywhere

As promised, here are photos of the completed Debbie Bliss baby bootie pattern adapted to knitting in the round.

Can someone please call the police? Because cuteness like this cannot be legal.

And the i-cord ankle tie came out so perfect. Better than the original strap with a button, if I do say so myself...and no worries about a choking hazard!

I'm no Grumperina, but even I can tell when a pattern is in need of improvement. I can see no reason for this pattern to be knit flat then seamed up the middle except fear of being intimidating. The modifications I made to knit it in the round are certainly not intimidating, even to a big lazy knitting chicken like me. Certainly nothing that a beginner with some cojones and a row marker couldn't handle.

I guess Debbie Bliss' patterns do not cater to the cojones crowd. What a shame.

Are You Ready?

Sockapalooza 4 has 1,000 members! Wowza! I signed up -- did you?

The organizer of Sockapalooza 4 is also associated with a knitalong of Harry Potter knits. The knitalong is not just for fun, it's also for charity. I have previously been sorted into Ravenclaw. Raise your hand if you took notes in college using an outline format in four colors of ink and White Out to fix your mistakes right away! Hey, I am I the only one with my hand up?

Easter 2007

Happy Easter!

The North Carolina Easter Bunny (aka my dear mother-in-law) sent us a special package.

Yum-aroo! Our sweet teeth are set for at least a week.

Notice anything else in the basket besides candy and scratcher tickets? Yep, it's yarn! Mr. Hipp took the hint and got me some very special Harry Potter-themed sock yarn from Dani at Sunshine Yarns.

From top to bottom: Colors inspired by Fawkes the Phoenix, a Welsh Green Dragon, a Swedish Short Snout Dragon, a Hungarian Horntail Dragon, and a Chinese Fireball Dragon.

This yarn is amazing. I couldn't quite capture the rich colors on this cloudy day but I promise it is better in real life. Mr. Hipp has already called dibs on any socks made from the Welsh Green or Hungarian Horntail.

We're going to spend the rest of the day watching the Masters on TV and getting some quality knitting done. I'm working on the curved front hem of the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I'm attaching the hem as I purl and bind off all at once; it's a lot of keep track of but seems to be working nicely. Not having to sew it down afterwards is worth it! Sorry about the blurry picture, I'm going to try to get a better one taken later today.


After finishing the hem, I'll either start right into the other sleeve or go back to the baby booties. Choice choices choices. Have a happy day!

Harry Potter Sock Yarn Alert!

If you are allowed to buy yarn in your Knit from Your Stash 2007 rules, you might want to do so at 11AM EDT tomorrow. Sunshine Yarns is making a bunch of her hand-dyed yarn available for sale at her Etsy shop and promises Harry Potter-inspired colorways. You may have seen these great Gryffindor socks around blogland. (Think Mr. Hipp will get the hint?)

Fickle Finger of Fate

A more fickle knitter you will never meet. The baby booties, despite the three versions -- plus one more (failed) test for a revised Robin-Hood bootie -- and some super soft cashmere-blend yarn, have been deemed a failure. The ribbed version just didn't look nice in the end. It looked so...home made. As a crafter this is painful to say, since "home made" is usually a motto of pride. But this poor little bootie was less "hand crafted especially for you" and more "you're auntie made this for you so you're going to wear it, no matter how much your friends laugh". I just couldn't bear the thought of starting this child on a path of ridicule.

So I turned to blogland and came upon the Top Down Bonnet at brooklyntweed. Yes!

It was done in about eight hours...not too bad for a last minute change of knitting plans.

Lacking an actual baby to model the bonnet, I hunted around the house for something else small and round. A vase from our Costa Rican honeymoon seemed close enough when turned upside down.


The vase enjoys wearing the bonnet while facing forward...


...and turned to the side.


I am in LOVE with this bonnet. It looks home made in the good way. The parents of this baby are leaving the baby's gender a surprise, so I figured the green stripes would be both gender-neutral and fun.

Now all I have to do is get this thing to South Carolina before Saturday. Ack! Think I have time to knit some baby tube socks before tomorrow's FedEx pick up? Heh heh.

Babies Babies Everywhere

It seems like everyone I know is having a baby nowadays. The Jaywalker socks, Sunrise Circle Jacket, and Knock Off Bag have been put on a three-day hiatus so I can make a quick gift for an upcoming baby shower. I can't attend the shower, but I figured I should send a little knitting love to the baby anyway. (If you know which baby I am talking about, please don't spill the beans before the shower!)

My first thought was to make these Robin-Hood-like booties from Debbie Bliss' The Baby Knits Book. The construction seemed simple but interesting. You knit three diamonds:one for the outside (black), one for the lining (tan), and one for the heel (both colors).


Wait a minute, black booties for a baby? I say you are never two young to have a good pair of basic black shoes. Besides, it's what I had in my stash. So there.

This bootie ended up sort of weird-looking, though. First, it's huge. Like toddler huge. The front is pretty cute (center bootie, below), but the diamonds come to a sharp point in the back that just doesn't make any sense. Unless babies have fighting blades attached to the backs of the their heels, a la cockfight?

So I moved on to just making a basic tow-up sock with the lining yarn (a yummy cashmere blend). I felt sort of bleh about the first one, too (left bootie, above). The second one has ribbing at the top (right bootie, above) that I think is going to be the big winner in the end. I think the ribbing will help it stay on Baby's teeny feet.

I'm going to have to work on that Robin-Hood bootie pattern. I can't get it out of my head! I feel like it has such potential...just need to get rid of those fighting cock blades...

Lake Forest Knitting Society

My friends were so encouraged by their foray into knitting that we have established our own knitting society!


From L to R: J is swatching for a fuzzy fair isle hat, A is working on a wide scarf, M has started a narrow scarf, C has started baby booties (she has discovered Koigu, aka crack), and I am making headway on the Sunrise Circle Jacket.

Our last meeting was just four short weeks ago. So I was SHOCKED to see the amazing progress C has made on her own. The scarf she started last time? Um, yeah it's done and a totally huge and beautiful stole now.


C has also made a successful leap into more advanced knitting. She has now mastered ribbing and short rows. Check out her cute Calorimetry.


I've been eyeballing this pattern for a while. After seeing C's, I am definitely going to make one!

Mr. Hipp wants to join our society, but couldn't pass up the chance to try out somebody's Wii.


After trying on C's Calorimetry, though, he might decide to start knitting after all!

Kick in the Pants

Lolly Knitting Around posted recently about biting the bullet and finishing a sweater that has been "in progress" since last year.

Oh, if I had a nickel for every unfinished project in my bins...I would have tons of money to buy more yarn! (But not until 2008, of course.)

The winner for longest-wallowing-project is a sweater I started for Mr. Hipp before we were married. Actually, I started it before we were even engaged. Does anyone else have an unfinished project from 2001?


Yeah, six years. Pretty embarrassing. All it needs is a front, some seaming, and a neckband. For some unexplained reason, I just lost interest in the project. Maybe I was subconsciously worried about the sweater curse? Presumably not an issue now that we are married, so I guess I need to get my butt in gear and just finish the darn thing.

Also in the wallowing pool is a modified version of the Ram's Horn Jacket from Knitting Nature. I saw that I was running low on yarn, so I shortened the sleeves from full-length the three-quarters in hopes of having enough left over for the fabulous ram's horn collar, which is kind of the whole point of the jacket. The sleeves, fronts, and back are done, and I've started seaming it together.


I still have to knit the bands for the front edges of the cardigan and the collar. I am still worried that I don't have enough yarn for the collar. Putting the project aside for a while seemed easier than doing the math to know if I really don't have enough yarn or searching the internet for more yarn. My gosh, how lazy can I be!

I am going to take Lolly's example as inspiration and return these two projects to the "active" pile. I need more freaking finished objects to show you!

"American Idol", Eat Your Heart Out

Thanks again to all who voted on my Jaywalker poll. The results are in:

A whopping 12 votes were cast. I was quite impressed with this number. To be honest, I didn't think I would get even that many votes!

Then Mr. Hipp spilled the beans and told me that he voted four times, all for keeping on with the Jaywalkers as is. There is a saying in epidemiology: Garbage in, garbage out, meaning if the data you bring in is biased, invalid, unreliable, etc., then the results you get out of the data will be meaningless. Assuming no others cast multiple votes, I cleaned my data of Mr. Hipp's duplicate votes and came up with some adjusted results. The overall winner remains the same, but by a much narrower margin:

Onward with the Jaywalkers!

Distractions

In an effort to distract myself from my Jaywalker quandary, I decided to cast on for the Sunrise Circle Jacket using the giant Irish spools of yarn.


Note the ruler in the pencil-cup on the right. That's right, this spool is a good 12 inches tall. Irish yarn does not mess around.

And on the left side? My favorite mug, a gift from a good friend.


You still have time to cast your vote on my Jaywalker quandary! Help an indecisive girl out! UPDATE: Voting is closed, thanks!

Quandary

I have always been a docile person. Happy to please, content with following direction, I tend to coast through life with little argument or stress. My teachers always gave me "E" for "excellent" in behavior. I was voted third friendliest in my high school. My most recent performance review at work includes the phrase "a pleasure to work with". This easy-going attitude is useful in most situations, but is a constant challenge when it comes to my crafting, especially knitting.

After ripping back a few rows and a whole heel, I thought the worst was over with my Jaywalker socks. I chugged along happily, my only modifications being a short-row heel and making it toe-up instead of cuff-down. I started the foot at the larger size of the original pattern (78 stitches around) since my foot is pretty wide. The foot itself was actually a bit loose, which I didn't mind, so I figured keeping with size would be fine for my normal-sized ankle and leg.

But now I am at a crossroads with these socks. The foot fits fine now that it has a bit of pull from the heel to keep it snug. It slips on like butta. The heel is fabulous (if I do say so myself).


But the ankle! Oy, it is so freaking tight! I have to grunt...


...and tug...


...to get it on. Once it's on, it's fine. It feels snug but hey, it's a sock, it should fit snugly, right?


So here is my quandary. My docile nature is telling me "Keep going, trust the pattern and the yarn, the process of knitting will be soothing to your senses." But then my latent, seldom expressed, independent streak comes blaring in with "These don't fit! You will hate these socks every time you see them."

And I hate to admit it, but the pooling is starting to bug me. How can yarn sing so harmoniously with a knitting pattern to produce this...


...also hit so many sour notes?


So I need your help. What should I do about these socks? Please cast your vote below!

UPDATE: Voting has closed, thanks for your input!

Kid Tested, Mother Approved

Mom wanted her subtly-requested Scholar Collar to be in a neutral color so that she can wear with her work clothes. Something in black, beige, or red was preferred.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm not afraid of bright colors. Trying to balance the request of my dear mother with the limitations of my self-imposed Knit from Your Stash 2007 rules proved to be a challenge. I thought I might have to break down and go yarn shopping (note the exemption for just such an occasion), but deep deep down in my stash I found something that might work.

I wasn't totally sure it would fit the bill since it has a lot of dark brown mixed with the beige, but I decided to start knitting so I could show her a swatch during my visit to Dallas. She approved it on the spot. Whew!


This is Lion Brand Al-Pa-Ka, a wool-alpaca-acrylic blend that is now discontinued. It's made from one dark brown strand and one beige strand twisted together. The two twisted colors knit in garter stitch end up looking like a moss stitch. Brainless knitting that looks more complicated? Yeah, I'm down with it!

There are three balls in my stash so I should have plenty for this project. I have had this yarn in my stash since 2001. Yep, that's right, 2001. Thank goodness my mom approved it for her Scholar Collar, because it is time for this yarn to get off its lazy but and do some work!

I Heart Mr. Hipp

This post is a few days late, but sweet nevertheless. Despite his moaning and groaning about balls of yarn all over the house, I believe he secretly loves being married to a knitter.

The proof is in the pudding. Ever eco-minded, Mr. Hipp presented these lovely gifts to me on Valentine's Day.

Nature's Palette fingering weight yarn in "Spring Grass" and
a tree-free card.

He could not help but inject a bit of Mr. Hipp humor with the card. Note the wording at the bottom.

This yarn is so soft and squishy. And it's completely within my customized rules for Knit from Your Stash 2007. The green and yellow blend so prettily together. Here is a close up for all of you yarn-porn fiends out there.


This yarn may just have to join the Green Socks Knitalong. Hmnm, yet another project for another day.

P.S. If you're interested in getting yourself (or a loved one) some eco-friendly yarn, head over to Earth Friendly Yarns. It is definitely worth checking out!

Dallas - More Fun than I Thought

We had a good time in downtown Dallas yesterday watching a dragon parade. Happy Year of the Pig!

There was a long line in the chilly weather to get into the Asian art exhibit, so we all pulled out our scarves to keep warm. It was a proud day in Hipp Crafts history -- all three scarves were hand knit by yours truly!

Mr. Hipp is wearing a Gryffindor scarf I made for him in the summer of 2005 while reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Notice the tiny "A" (his first initial) embroidered into the first red stripe. My mom is wearing a stockinette stole (bunched up) I made for her birthday in 2004.

And of course, I was wearing my entrelac scarf. One of my favorite knits ever!

New Knitters in Progress

Mwahh ha ha ha...my evil plan of converting all of my friends into knitters is slowly taking shape! First, Orange County. Next... THE WORLD! Mwahh ha ha ha!

Okay, so actually, it was just that a couple of friends want to start knitting and asked for a bit of guidance. They tempted me with the promise of gustatory goodies so really the choice was easy.

A bottle of wine, some lemon bars, and two segments of a knitting DVD later, we had some serious knitting action going on.

There were a few moments of consternation, but what is craft without a bit of a challenge?


J figured out her source of consternation and was soon happy happy joy joy again. She had some latent knitting know-how so she jumped right into making a log cabin blanket for her cats. Once she was refreshed on the knit stitch and binding off, I showed her how to pick up stitches and there was no stopping her!


C was equally impressive. She made several inches of progress on a scarf made from lovely sparkle yarn (which is also quite splitty...not an easy task, even for an experienced knitter!). Woo hoo, C! She also makes excellent lemon bars.


We also had some helpful assistants. M used to be a knitter, thanks to a seventh grade class called "Yarn Arts and Tea" (ah, the wonders of the Oregon public school system!).

M and Mr. Hipp brought us empanadas for dinner, cleaned up afterwards, and made witty conversation throughout.

Slowly But Surely

Despite being too big to bring along to work and travel for some quality knitting time, progress is being made on the Knock Off bag. Things move fast on big needles and chunky yarn!

It is pretty floppy, just like the inspiration (I finally found a real picture of it). Mine was sort of big, so I threw in some decreases to narrow it down and also give it a slightly different shape than the strictly rectangular inspiration.

I am loving the chilly blue color and chunkiness of the Patons Up Country. But what's up with the splotches of dark blue that randomly pop up?


I guess that's what happens when you try to make something that costs $145 for yourself.

The question now is how to attach the handles. The inspiration piece has nice leather straps sewn directly to the knit fabric. I am worried that I won't be able to attach leather to chunky knit fabric in a way that will be as strong or as neat as the original. Anyone have any advice?

One cute alternative uses corduroy as a thick binding for the top edge with corduroy straps attached to it instead of to the knit fabric. I think that the corduroy binding will make a sturdier base for the straps since it will be attached to the knit fabric all the way around. The straps would essentially be anchored to the fabric by the binding instead of just in four attachment points. Has anyone tried anything similar? Any tips to share?

Hmmm, now that I see the inspiration again, I may have to make a second one when this one is done!

BTW, some people have had trouble leaving comments. I have changed it so that comments are no longer in pop-up window. I hope this makes it easier -- so leave a comment!

Eye Candy Fri...Um, Sunday

So I'm two days late with my Eye Candy Friday post. I was born two weeks late -- and would have been later if my mother hadn't insisted on being induced -- so I suppose I can argue that being late is part of my nature. That, and I had a very busy Friday and Saturday (busy but a whole lot of fun so I can't complain too much). Nature or environment? You decide.

And now to the Eye Candy!


Hey, isn't this just a progress shot of the Jaywalker socks? How can that count as Eye Candy?

Ah, Dear Reader, if only you had seen the state of the Jaywalkers just a few short days ago. I was near tears...tears, I tell you.

I was zooming on these socks. Even the uneven pooling didn't slow me down. These are FUN to knit, even with bitty sock yarn and size 1 needles. I thrilled at pulling out the blue Koigu again to make the heels. Oh and such pretty short-row heels they were, too!

When I picked up the main yarn again to connect the heel to the instep and continue up the leg, horror struck -- I had dropped a stitch on the instep side. Worse, it had laddered down almost an inch. In a hand knit sock, an inch feels like a mile.

The dropped stitch should have been incorporated into one of the double decreases in the pattern. I was not brave enough to rescue it it with a crochet hook while maintaining the pattern. There was nothing I could do. I had to frog it back to below the dropped stitch. To add insult to injury, the stitch had dropped several rows below the start of the heel, so the whole pretty blue thing got frogged as well. Waaaaaaah!

Here is the poor little Jaywalker mid-frog.


But by Friday, all was well in Hippville once again. The offending stitch was rescued, the pretty blue heel was re-done, and the waterworks were thankfully averted.

I Get the Hint

My mom sent me an email yesterday containing a picture of this. There was no text in the message, just the picture. The email's subject line was "Hey this is nice..." She has also been saying how cold it is in Dallas.

I guess it's time to dig through my stash and get cracking on a scarf for Mom. It should be a good chance to learn how to make knit-in button holes.

BTW, the original scarf is from the amazing brooklyntweed. If you haven't already, you must go see his man-sweaters!

The Bandwagon

Every sock knitter who has not knit a pair of Jaywalkers yet, please raise your hand.

Oh hey, I'm the only one with my hand in the air.

The niche of small and portable projects for knitting breaks at work was empty. (Yeah, I knit during my work breaks. Thank goodness for labor laws! Mandatory 15 minutes of knitting for ever four hours of work.) So, of course, socks came to mind. I've been periodically squeezing my yarn from Purl and daydreaming of the pretty socks that would emerge from them someday. Then I saw this finished pair and decided to jump on the bandwagon.

Call me unoriginal. Call me trendy. Call me a follower. Call me a copy cat. Whatever.


I think I am in love. Shhhh, don't tell Mr. Hipp. No wonder this pattern is so freakin' popular.

Entrelac Scarf...OC Style!

The entrelac scarf is all done. Yay! It has been chilly in Southern California lately, so the timing could not have been better. What to wear with a fabulous, warm, and wooly entrelac scarf when in Orange County? Why, shorts and Uggs of course!

Tree-hugging is optional, but highly recommended.

Don't worry, I am far too old -- and have way too much sense -- to really dress like this. But if you have ever been to the OC when the temperature goes below 70 degrees, then you know that this is look is laughably common.

Here are the specs on the scarf:

Pattern: Entrelac scarf, a shrunken version of the Lady Eleanor stole in Scarf Style. After seeing how huge Lady Eleanor is, I knew it would be unreasonable for me to embark on the full pattern given my knitting speed (slow) and the local climate (generally warm). But a scarf I can do!
Yarn: Noro Big Kureyon, Color 1, about 2.5 skeins
Needles: US 10 Clover bamboo circulars
Modifications: Used only three base triangles instead of seven for a narrower scarf. The knotted fringe is shorter, too.
Size: 8" wide by 60" long, not counting the fringe

I LOVE this scarf. The preliminary uncertainties in width seem to have worked themselves out. The fabric is sort of stretchy in all directions, so I think the stitches just needed to get settled. It was also a lot of fun to knit. The directions in Scarf Style were excellent; it only took a couple of rows of rectangles for the pattern to click. Then it was easy street all the way.

This scarf looks pretty on the "right" side (left) and the "wrong" side. Brilliant!


BTW, I am hugging our own Hipp little magnolia tree, generously given by my in-laws. Talk about a great Christmas present!