Lettuces Dress, Preview

This needs a better photo (I'm out of practice; a setting is obviously off).

This is a dress I started back in Spring/Summer. The inspiration was a dress with ruffled trim like young lettuces. Here it is midsummer and it's only just finished. Sigh.

Otherwise I am pleased with the effect. I might try it again but at a slightly larger gauge. This one has a gazillion stitches per inch and took forever to knit.

Knitting at Stalag 13

My DH has been working his way through watching all of Hogan's Heroes.

Imagine my suprise when, in Season Two, Episode Twenty-nine, The Top Secret Overcoat, some knitting plays a role as a plot device. Colonel Hogan receives in the mail some knitted socks from his "auntie." He and the team use a goosed-up sewing box to unravel them and play a secret message.

Now there's a technique that's new to me.

12th Century Petit Tricotage

Of course, it's a terribly sad part of the film but I'm always delighted when I see this scene in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (00:12:23).

It's a nice touch on the part of the prop lady. I always assume that knitting is involved because of the balls of wool. But the gauge of that little jacket looks a bit too tight and fine; it could be woven.

Danish Babies

Remember that baby set I was working on?

Well, sometime last month I realized that it still needed it's ends sewm in, buttons attached, ktl., ktl. Fortunately I got it done before month's end because someone decided to make an appearance two weeks early.

As can be seen, it is still a bit big for the boy. It was knit using the newborn instructions and gauge but maybe Danish babies run a bit larger.

The pattern looks very pretty once done even though it does not involve anything more complicated that some intarsia bands at its yoke, crown, and ankles; for the most part it is just stockinette and moss stitch. The boy looked like he was going on a ski trip but it elicited plenty of praise from the neonatology nurses.

So far it the days are not too hospitable for knitting but I'm hoping some time opens up for it.

FS: Eero Aarnio Globe Chair, 1:12 scale

Not knitting related but round, round like a ball of yarn!

Yeah, it is a bit of a stretch to compare. But all proceeds will probably get blown, at some point on yarn, needles, patterns, or other knitting paraphenalia.

It garnered a spot here on the blog, in part, because for a very long time I have been itching to see this in person. A small but important point for those of you not familiar with REAC Japan: these are tiny chairs that seem to be approximately 1:6 scale. They are smaller than those overpriced Vitra miniatures and very well detailed but definately plastic. You can find them all over E**y.

I was in San Francisco's Japantown yesterday and managed to score this in a blind box sales. Unheard of with my lack of luck!

It is very nice and everything I imagined but now that I have it in hand, I realize that I don't really have a use for it so I'm selling it.

More REAC:
REAC Japan
Eero Aarnio Ball Chair For Sale

Triage Knitting

Images by Dalegarn, and BEKAHKnits.
With time flying and a budding realization that I don't really seem to like knitting for babies, the need for triage has reared its ugly head.

Here's the plan today:
1. Finish baby set. If I don't get cracking on this, Baby's coming home in a paper bag. The sweater is done and just needs finishing and buttons; the hat's 95% percent. But the bootees need to be made and there are two of them! The second one is always harder ... mentally, anyway.

2. The biggest project (Gladys Amedro's shawl) is one I should probably have started as soon as possible ... even if I'll probably still be working at it years from now. Lace knitting is still fairly new and challenging for me. How old can a baby be and still fit in the christening font?

3. BEKAHKnits fun bootees can probably wait till last. Everything I've been reading indicates babies can make do with sacks and socks for a little while anyway. I am actually looking forward to making these. They have a such a fun, little-old-man-by-the-hearth aesthetic and I'm curious about the construction of the inset sock cuff.

4. There's also a small matter of sewing in some ends on some polkadotted socks for a gift. Maybe a bus ride or two can get that out of the way?

Baby knits that look interesting and that look interesting to make:
BEKAHKnits (check out her maryjanes!)
Dalegarn

Done Deal

I've depleted the Paypal account and even gone so far as to speculate a bit on some yet-to-be-paid commissions. But I ordered a Mooqla!


I am really hoping that my banker does not check the bank balance until after all of my knitting proceeds transfer into the account. Otherwise, how am I going to explain such a big transfer to Russia?

Julia was the one I ordered. She was always my first pick although I was a bit intrigued by some of the others. Second choice was probably Victoria or Lisa. I decided to forego any customization. Polina Voloshina's original design for her suits me just fine. If anything, I might have changed her hair colour. So I asked them to not glue down her wig so that I could change it on my own. I can imagine her in something shorter and black.

What am I going to do with her once she arrives? A Mooqla might be the perfect model for something like this.

Better get practicing with that nasty crochet hook!

He Likes / She Likes

Not exactly knitting related but a great deal of knitting gets done and will get done in this environment.


Some of this stuff we're stuck with:
• sleeper sofa (de rigeur in a not-really-a-one-bedroom flat) for guests
• underused gate-leg table (another space conscious piece)
• Fortuny Lamp (actually my pride and joy)
• Barbara Barry Bracelet table (another gem ... even if its finish is scratched to hell)

What's Needed:
• a crib (this one was not my choice!)
• a chair or rocking chair to replace our two beaten up, massive leather chairs
• a changing table/dresser (ugliest piece of furniture in existence ... maybe a dresser is fine?)

What can probably wait:
• rug (the colour debate may extend the delay on this)
• an ottoman or pouf (the squishy aesthetic isn't flying with my "roomate" ... I may need to improvise something with a store fixture and casters)
• curtains or blackout blinds (sigh ... window treatments depress me)

A bigger budget and no "client" would be so nice.

Bobble Hats, 1:6 Scale

I had some inquiries about knitting the bobble hat to fit smaller dolls.

I had made one some time ago for Momoko so I knew it was possible. I had not written down the pattern though so it would have to be done from scratch. I decided to try recreating the Blythe-sized version but with much smaller needles (i.e., 1.75 mm). It worked out very well with a similar number of stitches and rows.

Momoko has a similarly sized head to both Fashion Royalty and Pukis which means the hats can be tried on any of these dolls. I have some lovely variegated silk yarn in my stash which seemed ripe to recreate the gauge of the first Momoko hat, which used a ribbon style yarn.

They turned out okay. There are very slightly differences between them since, with each one, I was tweaking the shaping of the bobbles, length of the ties, and even the shaping of the crown. And this time, I am writing it all down. I hate transcribing patterns but it is worth the bother.