cosmicpluto knits!

the almost-boston sweater

I just finished binding off the collar of my black Terra sweater – the one I didn’t manage to finish before heading off to Boston.

I love it so much! It still needs a gooooood washing/blocking (the black came off a bit on my hands and needles), and when it hits the water it’ll relax a bit as well. I did a couple of additional hip increases on this one, so it actually fits over my beer-and-cheese belly without stretching out over the back.

More notes and finished photos once I’ve done a load of sweater laundry.

knitting olympics win…and fail

Win:

I finished my socks! As I predicted, once I got down to it, the second one only took about a day and half to finish.

Fail: I was motoring along on my black Terra sweater, getting ready to finish it up tonight and block it so I could wear it tomorrow. Body and sleeves totally done, one buttonband done. Fits awesomely. I go to get the last skein of yarn to wind….

…and I left it at work. Booooo.

I guess it’s being left behind while I take off to Boston for a week!

raspberry beret pattern

This lightweight, easy to knit hat is an accessory you need in lots of colours! Worked in fingering weight yarn, it is perfect for those skeins of sock yarn or laceweight that are just too beautiful to hide. A bit of slouch makes for a flattering fit.

Work this up in a single yarn, or mix it up with one for the ribbing and a complementary yarn for the rest of the hat – I used Koigu KPPPM for the ribbing and a doubled laceweight yarn for the rest.

SIZES
To Fit: Baby (Child’s S, Child’s M){Child’s L / Women’s S, Women’s M, Women’s L}
Brim Circumference: 16 (17, 18){19, 20, 21} inches / 40.5 43, 4648, 51, 53] cm

MATERIALS
Fingering weight yarn – approximately 180-215 yards / 165-195 m per 1.75 oz / 50g skein
Total Yardage: 150 (165, 195){210, 235, 260] yards / 136 (150, 178){190, 213, 236] m

If using 2 different yarns, you’ll need 15% of the total yardage for the ribbing, and then 85% of the total yardage for the body of the hat.

Shown in Koigu KPPPM for the ribbing (35 yards / 32m) and Skaska Designs merino/silk laceweight, held double (390 yards / 354m), for the body of the hat. Shown in Women’s M.

Pattern download through Ravelry and payment by Paypal (no accounts needed).

$4.50 USD

random tuesday

My furnace is out. It’s about 15C in here right now, and although I do have a working space heater in my office, said office does not have a door and so I am still cold! Wearing lots of layers, but I just realized that I don’t have any fingerless mitts for sitting at the computer. Sigh!

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that the Hibiscus Shawl pattern is back up, with stitch counts and corrections. If you already purchased it you should have received an update email from Ravelry.

A look at the new sweater on the needles:

It’s a basic circular yoke top-down cardigan, in oh-so-useful black. I wear my dark Lucy in the Sky a lot, and I could really use another black sweater! Coming along pretty quickly at 4 st/in.

And here’s a treat for you all – a bit of video from our performance the other night! It isn’t the whole thing, but the quality’s pretty good. Enjoy!

(We’ll totally play birthday parties and corporate functions, but we don’t have a very long set list.)

ready to go!

I finished my gloves with time to spare! I knit the fingers at work yesterday and wove in all the ends.

No pattern for this one, just 3 balls of black Baby Ull, some 2.25mm double points and lots of stockinette. I started with 72 sts and decreased down to 44 for the hand (at 8 sts/in) – told you I have small wrists! They’re nice and long and super comfortable too.

Instead of finishing the tops of the fingers like the top of a hat (cut a tail, pull through the live sts) I chose to graft them instead. I have another pair of knit gloves that I did the usual pull-through finish with, and they always have a bit of a hole left at the top. This way is nice and secure at the ends.

I also finally managed to find a top to wear for this performance (and probably others) – I really didn’t know where to go to buy these kinds of clothes anymore, but I ended up at Le Chateau and found just the thing (cheap too). The full effect, although I’ll be wearing a different skirt:

Nothing to do tonight? Come see me and lots of other great people perform! We are the Trampions, a Queen tribute show – Lee’s Palace at 10pm, tickets $12. See you then!

a whole lotta glove

I managed to make up for lost time and then some – I’ve got one glove totally done, and the second is almost done the thumb gusset. Hooray!

And, ahem, I maaaay have started a sweater yesterday. Maybe.