Planet Auntie

Taking a cue from my friends Ann & Kay over at Mason-Dixon Knitting, I'm returning from blog hiatus. Honestly, I don't really know what happened. Life, I guess. I've got no better excuse for a two-year lapse, but I know I want to resume regular posting, have a blogmo instead of a NaNoWriMo. To begin, let's return to our roots as a knitting blog. Plenty of FOs to report from the last 24 months, so I'm going to divide them into two posts. 

Lots of gift knitting over this stretch; about half of the projects went to others. Nice to look back and see that. First, Wee C needed a birthday gift for a pal whose party she'd missed due to illness – giving me a flexible knitting window. We picked Gina House's Amanda hat for Isis, knit in Malabrigo, and then I made one for C as well in blue Manos (along with a pair of mitts).

For her Christmas gift I completed this Stephen West Spectra for my goddaughter, in a BMFA Socks That Rock colorway from their first sock club, paired with some Kitchen Sink Dyeworks semi-solid. I became a WestKnits fan after my the mystery KAL that gave me my Rockefeller shawl, one of my most interesting knits. And I'm pretty sure that I will begin his latest this month. 

Next I knit some basic socks at Little B's request; a year later I ripped out the toes and made them longer. Another winter request came from my friend Kim, for whom I knit some fingerless mitts with more leftover Manos that had languished in my stash. Their free pattern came from Blue Sky Alpacas.

And there were blankets, another thing to credit (or blame) those Mason-Dixon gals for – not that the classic Round or Pinwheel Baby Blanket is their doing, but once I had the yarn from first the (c.2006) Mitered Squares and then the Buncha Squares, what else would I knit for baby Ty, son of Little B's Mandarin teacher? This was my third baby pinwheel, and I highly recommend it for using up leftovers. I knit it in less than a month – meanwhile, the log-cabin blanket for C took me six summers! Kay called her Courthouse Steps version “Blue, Orange, Green, Green, Green, White, White, White, White”; mine is Red, Green, Green, Blue, Blue, Green, Green, White, White.” Only the last pairs of greens (sage) and whites (natural) are the same across all the squares. My squares are about 12”; I made 16 of them, joined with three-needle bind-off, and finished with a red i-cord "binding." 

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Finally, I finished the cardigan of 2014 about a year after I began. I rarely manage to complete a sweater in a season, but I never mind having one done in spring and ready to wear in fall. And obviously I am not a monogamous knitter! I wrote this post when I started what came to be known as Top Secret Jack, from the name of the Miss Babs color way. Pockets! I don't think I'd ever knit them before, nor attached i-cord that functions as a buttonhole band. After a bit of searching I realized that the four ceramic buttons I had bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool to match the yarn (when I though it would become a different sweater) were made by KokoNoelle. I found them on Etsy, but with no additional stock available. Determined to make the buttons work, I started their placement at the fullest point and spaced down to waist ribbing. I rarely button any cardigan, but this functions fine when I do. Really proud of this one. I also became determined to use every inch of the luscious Yowza, so I knit a slouchy Wurm hat to match – not that I wear them together. The last 30 yards became a cup cozy, pictured with the remnant strand on top!  

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