Tasty Link of the Week - I Pity the Fool

Since I've been doing an inordinate amount of web-surfing lately, and inspired by the glorious blog re:knit and the late lamented You Knit What??, I've decided to add a new feature: the Tasty Link of the Week. I'll aim for weekly updates, but I have a warped sense of time.

Enough jibba jabba--let's get to it: the folks at craftster.org laid down the challenge--best sock monkey ever. In a strong field, the undisputed champion: I Pity the Fool, a heart-stopping likeness of the one, the only Mr. T (I bow to the winner, and be sure to scroll through the other entries--wonderful stuff).

Absorba in Progress

If someone had told me a few months ago I would be knitting a bathmat using three strands of thick cotton on giganormous needles, I would have said "Ummm...no." But, this being the summer of all things Mason-Dixon Knitting, I find myself turning the corner on the Absorba. It's a gratifying project in a put-upon fairy tale princess way; as I slog through I keep waiting for some dwarfish gnome dude to pop up and demand that I guess his name or he'll take my firstborn. Whatever, it's really good for mopping up sweat. Here it is, in progress, surrounded by newly acquired cheapo cotton stash for more more more warshrags. I am into naming my ballband dishcloths these days--draped on the stash up top behold The Grapes of Warsh.

By the way, I promise a Ballband Dishcloth to the first person who can tell me what the row of colors on the left represents (for the record, and since my digital camera takes sucky pictures, those colors are Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange and Red. In that order.).

Baby Ballband Pillbox Hat

When is a warshrag not a warshrag? When it’s a baby hat! Never one to leave well enough alone, I’ve converted the ever-popular Mason-Dixon Knitting Ballband Dishcloth into a knit-in-the-round dome cover. Totally impractical of course—any self-respecting baby would fling it off in a heartbeat—but easily adaptable to larger sizes. No baby available to model, so I used a box of grits…that’s the Dixon in this NYC girl coming through.

Semi-Homemade Pattern:

Size: Baby. To size up, cast on extra stitches in multiples of six. Since you’re knitting in the round, forget about the extra edge stitches at the end of the flat pattern.
Materials: Worsted weight cotton of your choice in at least two colors (I used three colors here, but the pattern is written for two: Color A and Color B). Less than a 1.5 oz skein of each.
16 inch circular needle size 7, plus extra circular needle or set of double points for decreasing.
Gauge: Meh, just knit…it’ll fit somebody.

With Color A, cast on 60 stitches. Join and place marker. Purl two Rounds, and begin Ballband Pattern, joining Color B on Row 3.

Here’s the Semi-Homemade part: Ever mindful of copyright and giving props, I implore you to seek out Ann and Kay’s Mason-Dixon Knitting or buy yourself a ball of Peaches and Crème from the folks at Elmore-Pisgah (the pattern's on the...wait for it...ballband). If your ethics are shaky, an internet search will yield results, but I ain’t giving them here.

The tricky thing is converting the flat pattern to knitting in the round, but basically all you’re doing is reversing the stitches on the wrong side rows, and always slipping with yarn in back (i.e. Rounds 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 are knit as you see them; on the even Rounds 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, purl where it says to knit and always bring your yarn to the back to slip the stitch and move it forward again to continue purling).

Do 2 complete rounds of Rows 1-12 of the Ballband pattern, and then repeat rows 1-8.

Back to the Homemade part:

Purl 2 rounds. Knit 1 round, marking 4 points (here, the 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th stitches) for decreases. Use split markers, small safety pins or paper clips, because the markers will move with the double decrease** stitch (use a different color marker on the 60th stitch to indicate the beginning of the round).

Commence decreasing: *k to within 1 stitch of marked stitch, dbl dec** (slip one stitch, k 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over the 2 knitted together)*. Repeat around.

K 1 round.

Repeat these two rounds until you have 30 stitches left, changing to double points or 2 circulars when your stitches start cramping. At 30 stitches, start decreasing every round until you have 6 stitches left. Break yarn, gather stitches and weave in ends.

That’s all folks: steal it, embellish it, correct it--but please don’t sell it.

R.I.P. You Knit What??

Apparently, one of my favorite sites in the whole wide blogosphere has bitten the dust. Sure, there are other places out there that celebrate the fugly that is misguided needlework, but nobody did it better than You Knit What?? I will leave them linked in my sidebar forever. Thanks for the ride, guys.

Off to burn a ball of Bernat Disco in honor of my homies.

Mason-Dixon Baby Kimono

Awwww....Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting; in the background, the ubiquitous Ballband Dishcloth (isn't it amazing how a new warshrag appears on the needles as soon as you've finished one?) and a Ninepatch. For all, I used stash cotton so antique that the ballbands have been long lost (which is one of the many wonderful things about the book--it really doesn't matter so long as it knits up nice). Tarted up the kimono a bit by adding a 3-stitch i-cord tie and a single crochet trim. Onward...I love this book.

Why Didn't I Think of This?

I stumbled across a wonderful blog the other day: re:knit. The blogger describes it as "a knit- blog re-blog"--she gathers the tasty bits from across the web into a sort of knit-blog's greatest hits. Very cool, and saves me a lot of time slogging through my bloglines. Why didn't I think of this (surely not because I'm lazy and lack imagination)?

Oh, and another Elvis Sweater update courtesy of You Knit What??. Be careful what you wish for.

You Know You're Obsessed When...

...you come across a photograph of the soon-to-be-demolished stained glass murals on Terminal 8 at JFK and instead of worrying about how to save them, you start thinking about new color combinations for a Ballband Dishcloth.

Check out Kate A.'s beautiful analysis of the Mason-Dixon knitting phenomenon over at her very purty blog. Wonderful stuff.

Ninepatch Dishrag and Knitting Synchronicity

Since I've been neglecting my blog, I've also neglected to sing the praises of Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne's Mason-Dixon Knitting. I've been knitting almost exclusively from this book for the past few months as an antidote to my stressed-out melancholic life-related funk: it's fresh (in the sassy sense), funny (in the giggle and annoy the person trying to read in bed next to you sense) and remarkably unfussy (as in the it's OK to knit nothing but garter stitch using cotton you can pick up at your local Wally World [if you were ever going to be so bereft of ethics to step foot in a Wal-Mart--oops, that's me being fussy]). Anyway, I've made the ubiquitous Ball-Band Dishcloths (given away before being photographed but you can see some of Kay's awe-inspiring examples here) and the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono (peeking out above, waiting to be seamed and trimmed. No babies in the immediate future, so no rush). Just finished this Ninepatch Dishrag, the pattern for which Kay put up on their blog last week.

So here's the synchronicity part: I have the book. I pore over the blog that inspired the book. I lurk on the remarkably active Knit-A-Long. I've seen pictures of Kay, and I've always thought "Gee, she looks so familiar," but chalked it up to that overfamiliarity with public figures that once convinced my husband and his friend Robin that if they could only have tea with Joni Mitchell she would be their Best Friend...but I digress. Last week, Kay posted, with the loveliest photos, about a recent move to Washington Heights, my very neighborhood. So I dropped a comment suggesting a neighborhood knit-in, carefully composing so as not to sound stalkerish. Well, within a few minutes I get an e-mail back...it turns out I do know her! It's a long story and not particularly interesting but the reason she (and her children) look so familiar is because I shepherded them through the grueling paces of the NYC private school admissions process a couple of years ago (it's my job to judge children. I'm not proud, but it's a living. They got in, by the way).

Anyway, the knitting world is a small smelly one. And very sweet.

Elvis Sweater Update

Well, slap my bum and call me Sally. A poke around the internet reveals that I am far from the only one obsessed with the Elvis Sweater. It's been reproduced on playing cards, salt & pepper shakers, shot glasses, and even as a design for...well, a hound dog. I found a revelatory discussion of the garment's origins here; apparently it was worn by Elvis in this scene from Jailhouse Rock and may or may not have been his own garment or acquired from the MGM wardrobe department. Since the movie was in glorious black & white, the original color is in question, but it is most often reproduced in blue. A prototype won a contest on the knit-o-rama blog...it's close, but it's not The Sweater, so I might still drag out my Ann Budd and Barbara Walker and play with some charts. Nothing new under the sun, I guess, especially when it comes to celebrity knits. Or Elvis.

Elvis Sweater

I'm usually pretty imune to celebrity knitting sightings (well, there was Martha's Poncho, but that was a monumentous occasion and anyway it was crochet). Whatever, there's something very compelling about this sweater, worn by Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock. I think one of my summer projects might be to deconstruct and chart it (didn't make any promises about actually knitting it, folks). Stay tuned.

All the News That's Fit to Wear

It's not knitting, but it is textile related...DD works the catwalk in an ensemble constructed by a very talented friend entirely from the school newspaper.

Fierce. And informed, too.

Lemon-Lime Hats

T'is hats for the O'Leary boys, my boss's month-old twin nephews. Official photos will follow as soon as their heads are big enough that the hats don't fall over their wee little leprechaun faces. The pattern is another from Handknit Holidays, which I'm finding a most useful year-round book. They call it a Candy Cane Hat, but I had some yellow and green cotton in the stash, so lemon-lime hats it is. Twins--gah!! As I said in my welcome to the world note, when they're older I hope they switch these dome covers around at will to confound the adults in their lives.

A Knitted Wedding

While casting around on the internet for something to blog about, I came upon a site ever so appropriate for the month of June: it's a Knitted Wedding, y'all! Follow the link to read the story (don't miss the gallery at the bottom of the page) and get patterns for all sorts of groovy stuff--even the cake was knitted. The whole thing was the product Cast Off: the Knitting Club for Boys and Girls across the Pond. Those clever Brits: Jane Austen, the Beatles, Brideshead Revisited, Right Said Fred, Ladette to Lady, and now this. I'm inspired, and kind of tired just looking at it.

Baby Bunny Hat

A humble return to blogging. I won't apologize for my absence (did you miss me?); let's just say life got in the way. Anyway, here's a photo of Kelly, daughter of one of DH's colleagues, in the Baby Bunny Hat completed sometime around Christmas. Knit on; so shall I.

I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can

Poke around the blogs and you'll find reports of folks who are blocking the Alice Starmore size 2 needle fair isles they finished the first sleeve on before the flaming skater (not that there's anything wrong with that) made his way around the ring. I've decided to avoid the ubiquitous Progress Report posts...let's just say that here, on Day 3, I have recognizable K2 P2 ribbing. And I'm having fun. See Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics Athlete's Pledge. And knit on.

Survivors Ready...Go!

Another button, nabbed here. For all I know it says "Knitting Olympics Sucks," but I like it. Some random notes on the opening ceremony:

• Who wears the best hats? Austria wears the best hats! Love the fun fur toupee look. Am scouring the web for a picture.
• Nothing says Olympics spirit like 70's and 80's disco music. Ah Ah Eh Eh, let's all chant...indeed.
• OK, I totally get the Bode Miller thing. And the solo guy from Ethiopia? Mrrow.
• Whatever happened to the Jamaican bobsled team?
• DH called the Sophia Loren appearence early on, but he figured she'd be lighting the flame.
• What is the deal with Pavarotti's scary eyebrows? And buddy, lip-synch much?
• Yoko Ono. YOKO ONO???

Oh yeah, I cast on and knit a few rows. Go New York go New York go!

Haiku Socks--A Beginning

I managed to get a few inches of cuff on the Haiku Socks from Jessie's yarn. I'm using the basic pattern from Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, letting the yarn do the work. I'm not much of a sock knitter, but I'm loving the yarn so far...springy enough to hold a rib, soft and sturdy. And the color (bad flash here) is gorgeous. I'll see you after the Olympics, socks. Onward.

Christmas Rose Bag--F.O.

The calm before the Knitting Olympics storm, and the first F.O. of 2006. Christmas Rose Bag from Handknit Holidays. Knit using Lamb's Pride, 4 shades of pink and purple; size 8 circulars. Sucky picture, but I do like the bag. It's holding 9 skeins of the Tahki Donegal Tweed I'm using for the dreaded Saranac. Seriously, what the hell was I thinking? I need a motivational coach (or good drugs).

Go Team New York!

Woo hoo! Modgirl has answered my prayers and formed the Knit Olympics Team New York. I've got my yarn, my needles are heating up, and I'm ready to go. On the other hand, I'm awfully fond of this button posted by Uncle Leona:




A sweater in 16 days? What the hell was I thinking, indeed. (By the way, these buttons and lots of other Knitting Olympics stuff are being anthologized here by Kat with a K. Thanks, Kat, you rock!)

I'm A Poet and I Know It...

I can't help it if I show it. So, Jessie sponsored a contest on her blog: two skeins of gorgeous handpainted sock yarn for a Haiku, and I WON!! Nothing like a prize to boost a girl's ego. You can read my winning entry here, and while you're at it, visit Jessie's website and check out her stuff--it is lush. My yarn arrived a couple of days ago and photos don't do it justice--it positively glows in the skein. Part of the deal is I have to test it out for her so I'm going to try to get a pair of socks on the needles this weekend, although I'll probably only get part of a cuff done before I have to plunge into the Knitting Olympics. I was secretly hoping that Stephanie wouldn't get around to entering me, but there I am on the list committed to a sweater in 16 days. Yeah, right...but maybe a sleeve will get me the bronze. I have a gift certificate to the Mean Girls Yarn Shoppe (you know who you are), so I'm headed out this week to get the goods. I haven't joined an official team yet--I have a hard time getting behind all the USA rah rah flag stuff--but if anyone has come up with a TEAM NYC button I'm so there. In F.O. news, the Christmas Rose bag is blocking over an ice bucket and salad plate as we speak. A couple of miles of i-cord to go and I can stick a fork in it and call it the first finished object of 2006. Photo to follow. Speaking of photos, R.I.P. Coretta Scott King: