more reverse-stockinette than you can shake a stick at

What is it, you ask? Well, that's a good question.

Years ago, when I was a new knitter (back when you had to plumb the depths of the internets for new and exciting patterns because there was no such thing as Ravelry) I happened upon this pattern. No idea how I found it. It seems to be a rather obscure typed-up version of an old Bernat pattern buried deep inside a rather obscure website. The only photo provided is the one I've included below, and it's hardly a high quality glossy. At any rate, I fell in love with the grainy vagueness which is the Men's Irish Collar Neck Pullover and, even if the name is not a winner, I vowed to someday knit it.

{cue shaft of sunlight and voices of angels}

Years pass and now we fast-forward to a few weeks ago when I decided that I was going to knit a nice Christmas pullover for the Wee Nephewling (who is now three and not nearly as wee as he used to be).

I don't know if you've ever looked around for a nice lightweight (dk-weight or finer) little boy's pullover that also happens to be awesome. Turns out that they are ridiculously thin on the ground (in fact, the only one that really springs to mind is Twisted Tree). After a bit of frustration I remembered the good old Men's Irish Collar Neck Pullover and decided that it was the Answer To All My Problems. It took me a while to find it back (it doesn't seem to be on Ravelry*) and, for obvious reason, I couldn't remember the name. But find it I did (thanks to an old bookmark folder on my work computer called "wannaknit men") and it was just as lovely in its vagueness as I'd remembered.

Seriously. That's a lot of reverse stockinette, peeps.

So now I find myself faced with the challenge of shrinking down an adult-sized sweater, which has no diagrams and only one rather useless photo. Fun stuff! First I got the desired finished sweater dimensions off of Rae** (mother to the Wee Nephewling), did a bunch of math, and calculated that I could knit size medium to the correct dimensions if I could achieve a gauge of 25 sts to 4" (approximately sport-weight). Then I ordered way more yarn than I'll probably need (10 balls of Knitpicks Stroll Sport in Williamsburg blue) and figured out I can get gauge on US2/3mm needles (which, unfortunately, limits me to one particularly fetching pair of aluminum straights. But that works with the whole retro thing, right?). Then I cast on for the back, started following directions blindly, did a bit of guesswork, and waited for things to unfold like a Christmas Miracle. Or maybe one of those Mystery patterns.

a strapping young sweater.

My first surprise? This interesting armhole construction: you bind off stitches for a couple of rows and then, after you start on the cable straps, you gradually add stitches back in so that it gets wider toward the shoulders. I have to say this is a new one for me. The cable was a pleasant surprise though. I was expecting something more standard issue (since you can't actually see the cables clearly in the photo) but this one is quite fetching.

That's enough for now I think. I hope your holiday knitting is going well!...stay tuned for more adventures in Child-sized Men's Irish Collar Neck Pullover knitting!

*nevermind. I found it.

**who is doing fabric giveaways right now, so if that's your type of thing you may want to scurry on over and enter!

Here's a little peek at one of the projects on the needles:

I may look like a mitten, but I am really a glove**

This is my second pair of Snorri Gloves. You last saw the first (now finished) pair here. Pictures soonish! We've already done the photoshoot and, as we all know, Thunk is an excellent model.

*which make an awesome little holiday craft, if you haven't already made some. seriously...they take about a half hour a piece.

**I know this picture is a little fuzzy, but there's nothing I can do about it now because there is NO LIGHT ANYMORE! I miss the sun. Boo.

who's got toes?*

While it is tempting to declare this "FO Week" and get everything caught up, I know that as soon as I make any sort of declaration I'll get completely wrapped up in something else and wander off. You know, like last week when I promised to blog some WIPs and then got very involved in practicing my cello and watching reruns of Bones {cough}. So we'll see.

For now I'm going to kill two birds with one stone and get a couple of pairs of Plain Old Socks off my chest. Nothing fancy here, just a couple pairs of my standard-issue toe-ups to send off to the SILs for Christmas.

Captain Whitelegs strikes again.

Grape Fizzies:
Pattern: my toe-up version of Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
Yarn: Trekking XXL, Color 109 (it reminds me of grape soda.)
Needles: size 1 dpns
Start to finish: October 2009 - September 2010 (the majority of this time was spent waiting for me to do the final tubular bindoff on the second sock.)
For: My SIL Kasey, who claimed them when I was knitting them at her house in Oregon last December.

send spray-tan

Lemongrass Plain Old Socks:
Pattern: my toe-up version of Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight, Color: Lemongrass.
Needles: size 1, and 1.5 dpns (I switched to the larger needles halfway up the leg.)
Start to finish: February 2010 - November 2010 (I have no idea why they took this long.)
For: My SIL Anna, who claimed them when I was knitting them at her house in LA last February.

more fizz please

*the question that Thunky asks every baby he meets. (A: "YOU'VE GOT TOES!!!")

So...it is with great pleasure (and a bit of a delay...sorry about that) that I announce the 3 winners of the Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting book giveaway! They are (in no particular order):

1) Veronique C.

2) Jill B.

3) Elns

Check your e-mail ladies!

In other news, this week I promise I will actually blog about my knitting! I've had so much newsy/giveaway stuff lately that I've fallen a bit behind in other departments. No good!

I'm getting a lot of milage out of this photo.*

I don't receive royalties for these mittens from Vogue Knitting online sales, so I definitely encourage you to save yourself the normal $5 download or magazine/book purchase and snag the pattern for free. I have no idea how long WD will keep the pattern up on their website (one week? forever?) but it's there now. What are you waiting for? Go get it!

Ravel it

p.s. have you entered the Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting giveaway yet? The contest is open until 11:59pm EST, Friday, November 5, 2010.

*photo courtesy of Vogue Knitting/Soho Publishing

If you read my post yesterday about my contribution to Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting, you'll already know that this is one book I've been eagerly anticipating for years! My mom too...she's been asking me when it will be coming out since I first told her about it in 2007. After a year or two of asking, I think she started to think I was making it up. Well guess what? The wait is over...it's finally out!

look mom! it's totally real! (you can tell because it has a shadow)*

A little review of the book:

The book is broken down into three sections, all of which are pretty darned awesome. (If you want a peek at the Table of Contents you can find it over here.)

The first bit (and when I say "bit" I really mean "whopping 114 page chunk") covers a variety of more advanced knitting techniques. It starts simply with stripes and before you know it you've passed through slipped stitches, tubular knitting, and double knitting. There are whole chapters devoted to intarsia, stranded knitting, cables, lace, embellishments, and even a catch-all chapter with lots of other useful stuff. Like 16 pages of cast ons/cast offs. Debbie does not mess around...when there are multiple ways to do something she gives you a whacking great selection to choose from so you can find what works best for you. I approve.

Pullovers! Tulip Top, by Laura Grutzeck - love! l adore the texture and applied i-cord bow. the colors rock too. Nip/Tuck sweater, by Lien Ngo - adorbs! fantastic pin-tuck-esque bib detail and fluttery sleeves.*

The second part of the book (46 pages or so) is all about designing sweaters. In this section Debbie walks us through four different types of sweater construction and makes the whole thing seem ridiculously straight-forward. And I'm saying this as someone who has dipped her toe into the waters of sweater design and run straight back to the mitten pool. The page addressing how to evenly space X increases (or decreases) over Y rows is worth the price of admission alone.

Cardis! Crush shrug, by Alyssa Carlberg - a great little bolero. perfect for pairing with a high-waisted skirt. Coco cardi, by Ruthie Nussbaum - check out those sequins! so fabulous.*

The last part is the pattern section. I'll be honest...knowing that the book was delayed for a few years...I had mentally prepared myself for the pattern section to feel a little dated. So I was totally surprised by the sheer quantity of awesome. Being the selfish knitter that I am, the patterns I picked to show off in this post are the ones I want to knit for myself. Yum.

Who knows exactly why this book has taken so many years to finally make it to press...it doesn't really matter. After seeing the final product it's pretty obvious that DS took the time she needed to do a fabulous job with it. Good for her.

Accessories! Saxon the City stockings, by Julia Frank - knit on size 8s, these chunky beauties might even keep me warm in my freezing office this winter. Gretel Tam, by Ysolda Teague - I never got around to knitting this classic. Better late than never!*

Here's the Giveaway Part!

Want to win a copy of Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting? This book is all about taking your knitting up a notch, so leave a comment on this post telling me about the most challenging thing you've ever knit...or attempted to knit. Do you have a cabled nemesis that still lurks in the bottom of your knitting basket? Did you conquer a fantastically complex lace shawl? Maybe you've just finished your first scarf and it just about killed you. I can't wait to hear about it! Everyone is welcome to enter...no worries if you've never commented here before. Three (3!) copies are up for grabs, courtesy of Debbie Stoller and Workman Publishing!

The Normal Contesty Details:
Only one entry per person, please. International entries are encouraged...Workman Publishing said they will mail internationally (thanks)! I will close the contest at 11:59pm EST, Friday, November 5, 2010. The winning entries will be chosen using a random number generator. Good luck!

Ok, one more fun fact about this book...
My Aunt Nancy calls it "Stitch 'n Hmm" because she doesn't use bad language. So cute. Cracks me up every time I think about it.

*all photos courtesy of Debbie Stoller/Workman Publishing

**The giveaway is now over, so comments are closed! -E**

Yeah. You'd be excited too. There may or may not have been heart palpitations of delight.

Never one to keep things simple, I decided to improve the pattern a bit for the SnB version. Peasant thumbs have never worked very well for me, so I reworked the thumb into a stripey side-tab thumb (just like I'd recently designed for my Herringbone Mittens pattern) and I proudly knitted my samples in a slightly bilious orange and blue color combination.

yeah, I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking either

It wasn't long before I got an e-mail from Debbie asking if she could have them re-knit in different colors (she was very polite, citing contrast issues...but my guess is that she couldn't quite figure out why we'd gone with that color combination either). I happily gave her the go-ahead and some party unknown did a re-knit* with some very nice colors of Jamison & Smith 2-ply Jumper Yarn.

Then there was a bit of a wait (2.5 years or so) while the book was shuffled around in Publishing Purgatory, as sometimes happens.

In the intervening years I've published nine other patterns in magazines and books, and self-published a couple more too. So, as strange as this seems, I'm pleased to introduce you to my VERY FIRST PUBLISHED PATTERN:

Ta-da!

Oh, and the icing on the cake? You can totally have a copy of the pattern. Here you go!** New and Improved Squirrelly Mittens for everybody!

Ravel it!

Tomorrow (Monday, November 1) Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting is officially released into the big wide world. I'll be doing a little review and a book giveaway, so stay tuned for that!

*unfortunately, whoever knit them didn't do a great job. oh well. live and learn.

**this is a pdf file. you'll need a recent-ish verson of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to open it (free download here).

Yes, it's true...the Sprig Mitten pattern is pressed, dressed, and ready for action. I took some pictures this past weekend while I was up in Michigan visiting my family and finally got the pattern formatted all pretty. Hooray!

everybody say "hi!" to my little sister kricket**

Those of you who've been paying attention for the last couple of months will already have heard most of this before, in which case you can just take a gander at the new pictures. But for those of you who just wandered in from some dark alley somewhere...here are some details for you!

General stuffus:
Knitted out of bulky-weight yarn and destined to be the one of the quickest colorwork projects you've ever encountered, these mittens are pretty darned spriggy. Techniques used include knitting in the round on dpns, increasing/decreasing, stranded colorwork, grafting, and being awesome. The pattern includes 3 pages of instructions and charts, with some photos thrown in for good measure.

palm-patterny goodness

Yarn: These mittens use two colors of bulky yarn (something with a suggested gauge of 14sts = 4"/10cm on US10/6mm or thereabouts should work). Samples are knitted in:

Luxe and Lovely:
Araucanía Azapa (30% alpaca/45% merino/15% silk/10% donegal; approx 3.5oz/100g; 197yd/180m):
(A) 1 skein Tan (#802)
(B) 1 skein Cadet Blue (#811)

Economical and Elegant:
Knit Picks Swish™ Bulky (100% superwash merino; approx 3.5oz/100g; 137yd/125m):
(A) 1 skein Saffron (#25132)
(B) 1 skein Silver (#25135)

Note: both of these yarns come in 100g skeins, but the mittens use right around 45 - 50g of the main color (A) and 50 - 55g of the contrasting color (B). So it's totally possible to get two pairs out of one color combo...you may have to swap the colors though.

this is the saucy mitten shot

One size: Woman's medium

Knitted measurements:
Palm circumference: 8.25”/21cm
Length, base of palm to top of mitten: 7.75”/19.5cm
Total length, including cuff: 10.75”/27.5cm

This grass stuff totally made Kricket sneeze. she is a v. dedicated mitten model.

Price: $6.00

Ravel it!

I don't know what I'll do if I ever move and don't have this slab of cement to photograph mittens on any longer.

*yes, I know I'm a big baby...and no, I have no idea how you people with kids do it. when do you get anything accomplished?
**kricket is now a professional mitten model. because I paid her...in diet pepsi.

It should be noted that I am not a ridiculously fast knitter and, as you will see, I make plenty of dumb mistakes...so I'm guessing that this is a fairly accurate approximation of how long it would take an average accomplished knitter to knit one Sprig. Anyway, I'll let my Past Self take it from here...

[insert going-backwards-in-time-noise here]

-00:13
I’ve mentioned a time or two how quickly these mittens knit up. But how quickly is quickly? Being the intrepid and selfless knitter I am, I am about to sacrifice my Sunday afternoon in the name of science. Or something.

This is how it’s going to work: At noon I will cast on for the cuff and knit until one mitten is done. I will take pics along the way to document how things are going.

Timekeeping: I will be measuring the passage of time with the help of a super high-tech time piece that I dug up from under the bed…a hand-me-down watch that my grandpa gave me when I was a kid. The dial is painted with radium to make it glow in the dark, so you know that this watch is not messing around.*

00:00 Go!
Let me take this opportunity to introduce our yarn. Please welcome Knit Picks Swish Bulky in Saffron (red) and Silver (gray)! {polite clapping}

00:42 Cuff and increase round are done!

00:55 Forgot to switch to larger needles for hand. Darn. Rip back 5 rnds.

1:40 Thumb stitches moved to waste yarn (usually I use dental floss, but for you guys, I used Real Live Yarn)!

2:34 Found a mistake in my colorwork. Darn. Rip back 6 rnds. Then 3 more.

2:44 – 3:24 Telephone call. Cannot do science and knit at same time. (-40 min)

3:25 Take break to warm up curried black-eye-pea and bacon soup**...may have neglected to eat lunch before starting. Also, yum. (-19 min)

3:44 Back to knitting!

4:22 Hand section done, next up, grafting!

4:30 Hmm...seem to be yakking on phone again… (-27 min)

4:57 Thumb time!

5:23 Thumb complete. Time to weave in ends!

5:49 Done!!!

So...if 1 hour 26 minutes = not knitting, Total Knitting Time for one mitten = 4:23
[cue triumphant kazoos]

So it logically follows that a pair of mittens would take a little under 9 hours to complete, before blocking. Not too shabby eh?

*it suddenly occurs to me that storing a radioactive watch under my bed is probably not a great idea. On the other hand, this may explain a lot about me.

**Thunky makes this soup a lot. It is the bomb. Recipe here. You're welcome.

Photo courtesy of Vogue Knitting, who took pity on me and my asbestos floor tile and sent me a promo shot.

Yeah, but who won the contest?

Keep your pants on. I'm just getting to that.

Shortly after Midnight, in the wee hours of the morning when we should have been asleep, Thunky used a combination of a random number generator and his fabulous good looks to provide me with a number between 1 and 120. The winning number? 29! Which means that BerlinBat is our Very Lucky Winner! She'll be receiving her very own copy of Vogue Knitting Mittens & Gloves soon (or soonish, since I don't know how long it takes for mail to reach Germany these days).

So congratulations, BerlinBat...check your e-mail! And thanks for playing everybody! You're all just so lovely. And I'll be having another giveaway soon, so don't wander off...

Vogue Knitting just published a new volume of mitten and glove patterns...this one here in fact:

everything is more glamorous when posed against a backdrop of asbestos floor tile

It just so happens that four of my patterns, previously published in Vogue Knitting and Knit.1 (may it rest in peace), are included in this compilation. So I asked the nice peeps at Vogue Knitting to send me a copy to give away on the blog. Because I love you so.

A little about the book
Since this is a compilation volume, you won't find anything in here that isn't in past issues of VK or Knit.1 magazines. That said, the editors did a pretty excellent job of picking out an interesting and knitable selection of woman's mittens, gloves, and fingerless mitts/gloves that utilize a variety of techniques. There are a lot of cables, colorwork, and embroidery, and some less technically-difficult patterns as well.

If you want to have a peek at the online preview it can be found right here.

hopefully you recognize this motley cast of characters by now*

Elli Favorites include:

Jared Flood's Druid Mittens/Green Autumn Mittens (now renamed Multipattern Tweed Mittens).

Tanis Gray's Potpourri Mittens (now renamed Hugs and Kisses Mittens.)

Mari Muinonen's Yellow Harvest Mittens (now renamed Trellis Mittens) and
Fingerless Gloves (now renamed Lace Medallion Fingerless Gloves).

The Contest Part!
If you would like to have a shot at winning your very own copy of this fine book, simply comment on this post telling me something about mittens or gloves! What mitten or glove pattern are you knitting right now? Did you have a favorite pair of mittens when you were little? Do you have a tragic tale of lost gloves? Maybe you live near the equator and have never owned a pair of mittens in your life? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you, even if you've never commented before.

Other Contesty Details:
Only one entry per person, please. International entries are encouraged, but I reserve the right to choose a less expensive/slower shipping option if postage costs are ridiculous. I will close the contest at 11:59pm EST, Sunday, October 17, 2010. The winning entry will be chosen using a random number generator. Good luck!

p.s. As of this blog post, the book hasn't been entered into Ravelry yet. Somebody get on that!

*If they were dwarves I would name them Sulky, Piney, Fridgie, and Drippy.

**The giveaway is now over, so comments are closed! feel free to e-mail me about how much you love mittens and gloves though :) -E**

it's about time, eh?

The Specs:

-Pattern: An Elliphantom original.
-Yarn: Araucania Azapa, about 50g (a half skein) each of Cadet Blue (811) and Tan (802).
-Needles: Size 9 dpns (size 7 for ribbing).
-Start to finish: September 21 - October 7, 2010.
-For: Me, I think :)

ten points if you can think of a good palm pun

Yarn:
The Azapa is gorgeous...a lofty single with lots of character. Perfectly soft and snuggly, and the chunkiness makes for super-fast knits. And, as I've mentioned before, their distributor has good customer service which never hurts! The only negative thing I can say is that the lightly spun nature of the yarn means it's not the most durable choice out there. After a couple froggings I could see it was beginning looking a bit worse-for-wear. But still...lovely stuff!

how much do I love you? enough to put on my winter coat when it's 80 degrees out...

The Design Process:
I don't work with bulky yarn very often...I did a search for "bulky" on my blog and seven results came up. "Chunky" only brought up three...and I'm coming up on five years blogging. So you'll excuse me if I keep repeating myself by saying: oh-my-freaking-goodness does this stuff ever knit up quickly.

The chunkiness of the yarn meant that I had many fewer stitches to work with, and fewer stitches translates into a much simpler colorwork chart. While the sprig motif practically charted itself, I had a little more difficulty coming up with a suitably non-cluttered palm pattern that still had some visual interest. I had a lot of rejects (I just counted 27...geesh!), most of them deemed Too Busy and, in retrospect, a few of them were just plain Ugly.* I'm happy with this one though...a simple pole pattern that morphs into a simple arch.

this pic makes me want to go swimming

The Pattern:
I'm working on it! Hopefully it'll be ready soon.

Final Verdict:
I'm super-pleased with how these turned out! Hopefully you're not sick of seeing Sprigs...because I may be working on one more pair. But I promise that will be the end of it.

Really.

Raveled here!

*inexplicably, one of the 27 attempts included a house. Not sure how to explain that one.

{twiddles thumbs}

{whistles}

In other news, I finally set up a Facebook page for the blog! I am nothing if not behind the times. I'm still getting settled but you can find it here. No longer will my non-knittish FB friends have to listen to me natter on about yarn! Sad for them, I know.

Predictably, the Sprig Mittens:

These things reproduce like rabbits.

Knitting Fever (distributors of Araucania) has fantastic customer service...when I messaged them about the wonky skein of navy they quickly arranged to have a replacement sent to me. Yay! I officially love them. Their yarn rocks pretty hard too. And the gauge of the replacement skein is spot on (see the two mittens on the far left).

Since that photo was taken I've finished the thumb on that second navy and tan mitten. I just have to weave in the ends and I'll have a FO to show you! But I am so easily distracted by other projects. For example...

The Forgotten Shetland Triangle

did you miss me?

Geesh. I just checked Ravelry and found out that I started this shawl in October of 2007. At the time I wanted something fancier, so I started a different one in silk thread and left this plainer Cashsoft 4 Ply version to languish, assuming I'd frog it eventually.

Fast-forward to this summer when I pulled it out just to have some simple lace to work on...I've been working a few rows here and a few rows there...nothing intense...until yesterday I realized that it was actually getting pretty large. So I got busy with the edging and I worked the last row of the chart last night before bed. All that remains is the bind off and a nice blocking. You'll be seeing this one soon!

Grove Mittens

*sigh*

At my current rate of a few rows a day, maybe these mittens will be finished by the time the snow arrives. I love this pattern but I just can't seem to memorize the charts, hence the slow-going. But they're so pretty that I couldn't resist throwing in another picture.

Lemongrass socks

s'up?

My current toe-up Plain Old Socks. If you've been around for a while you may recognize the yarn as the stuff I originally used to cast on for a pair of ill-fated Jaywalkers. The yarn was a tad too bulky though...much better suited to some plain socks. And plain socks are the ultimate movie-knitting. Especially when subtitles are involved.

I switched to 1.5mm dpns for the calf, which is why the striping on the yarn changes further up the leg. I'm still trying to decide if it was the right choice. But I'm assuming that the recipent of these socks will just squnch them down, so it really won't matter.

That's it for my weekend! I hope yours was as nice as mine! How's that fall knitting going?

*The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. Fall is for listening to mysteries!

Hello! Please admire my fetching rotundity.

Clementine's mama (aka my sister Rae) has been hinting that she wants a Spherey for...oh...about four years now. Even though I lovingly knitted her eldest child the robot from the same book it was pretty obvious that she secretly wished that I'd made him a Spherey. Well sometimes dreams really come true...even for ungrateful robot recipient's mothers. Hopefully the Spherey-sized hole in her heart has finally been filled.

Notes:
I've knitted this pattern once before using worsted wool, but after knitting the aforementioned robot in dishcloth cotton (and finding out that it makes frequent trips through the washing machine) I decided that washable is the only way to go when knitting toys for children. The cotton isn't as nice to knit with, but Rae did go to all the trouble of producing a niece and a nephew for me, so I may as well reward her with easy-care toys.

Spherey practices his coy smile.

Since cotton yarn doesn't knit up as tightly as wool, I went down a needle size to prevent enormousness. In spite of my precautions I was surpised to find that this Spherey still came out a few inches larger than the wool one. But then I checked my previous FO post and realized that I went down two needle sizes when I made the first one. Good thing I keep records of this stuff so that I can ignore them later.

Final Verdict: Adorbs. And Rae seems happy. Hopefully Clementine will like him too!

*unfortunately this awesome pamphlet is out of print and is pretty much impossible to find. For those of you who will ask, sorry...I really don't have any special insight into where you can find a copy. And no, I will not send you copies of any of the patterns, or sell them to you either. This should go without saying, but I'll mention it here in hopes that it'll save me from having to send you a copy of my canned 'Unusual Toys' e-mail response. But I'm sure you weren't even thinking of asking. Because you're cool like that.