Trish Knits.com

Tag: rainbow

  • A Sock Story

    Sock Finished, with cuff up
    Sock Finished, with cuff up
    Finished Sock, cuff down
    Finished Sock, cuff down

    This is it! The finished sock, in all its loose, holey glory. But hey, it’s my first, and my kid says she’ll wear it if I make the other one. Who knows? Maybe I will. I’m pretty proud of myself. Now I have this urge to know everything in the world there is to know about sock construction.

    Here’s my project info, just in case I ever really do make the other one, and I need something to go back to.
    Yarn: Wool of the Andes
    Color: Amethyst Heather
    Needles: Harmony, size 4
    Pattern: Come to Silver Two at a Time Toe Up Socks (yeah I really only made one!)
    Details: CO and did toe increases as in pattern. When toe increases were finished I knitted 36 rounds plain. Did short row heel as in pattern. Then over four rounds, increased on two rounds by four stitches each, for a total increase of 8 stitches. Then did 25 rows of 2×2 Rib. Used sewn bind off as in pattern.

    Someday, it will have a mate.


    Kauni Rainbows

    Kauni Effektgarn


    Yay! The postman smiled upon me today and brought my Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 yarn that I ordered from Astrid’s Dutch Obsessions last week. That was fast! I can’t wait to swatch. I of course got the Not only did they send me 6 150g balls of the beautiful yarn, but I also got a yummy sweet cookie, which lasted all of about 4 seconds. It was kind of like an ice cream cone all rolled up in sugar. Yum!

    I am going to make Ruth’s Kauni Rainbow Cardigan, of course. Someone on Ravelry even gave me a link to an upsized version. Yay. It’s been done before and I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

    I wish I could get started, but there’s this brown ripple afghan calling my name. Sigh…

  • Just gotta say…

    It’s done.

    Rainbow striped baby blanket completed

    Off to bed… story tomorrow. Diana went to bed with her pajamas on inside out and backwards. She’s hoping for a snow day. Secretly? Me too. Don’t tell her I said that.

  • WHEEEEEEEEEE! It’s Finally OFF the Needles!

    Baby Blanket almost done

    Yesterday was a very happy knitting day, indeed. The fall chill is definitely in the air, the leaves are dropping, and it was the first day of Standard Time, which though I dread the early nights it is nice to see the sun again in the mornings. My friend Steve came over and he had a pile of long-neglected paperwork with him. For some reason, he says he does better getting his stuff done at my house. That sitting in the company of someone is an incentive to get the task done.

    Well, I think I do know what he means. While he was sitting at my kitchen table writing away, I sat nearby, finishing the last row and then doing the bind off for my long-suffering rainbow stripey baby blanket. Yes, there were many days when I was certain that this project would just NEVER get done. Of course, I have all those ends to weave in, but a good friend has volunteered to come over and help. Yay! I’m still trying to decide whether this blanket needs a border. Opinions, anyone? I’m thinking the blue color, since the baby is a boy. (I originally picked the rainbow because the MOM loves bright colors, and the gender of the baby was unknown at the time.)

    It’ll be a relief to start a new project. I’m planning some baby hats for a co-worker (a different one!). Then it will be time to make a hat for my mom and a new one for me. Then, I’m tackling mittens. But wait… I’m getting ahead of myself…

  • Why, Oh WHY Is the Last Stripe SOOO Hard?

    rainbow stripey blanket in progress

    Ugh. For some reason, I’m dragging this blanket out into foreverdom. I don’t know why! It’s not like I DON’T want to be done with it; trust me, I do. I have lots of hats I want to knit! I think it must be all of the ends that need to be woven in, and the border I want to crochet on. Egad, how I hate finishing! (insert whine here)

    So, slowly but surely I am plugging away. Five rows to go. Then the bind off. And all. Those. Ends. I think it’ll take another month.

    (Harummmph.)

    Cool Stuff I Found on the ‘Net

    • The Any Yarn, Any Size Knit Hat Book–this book is finally available as a PDF download. It has SO many cute hat designs, if you love hats you won’t be able to pass it up.
    • Magic Loop Video–by the Knit Witch. This has to be the most clear example of how to do the Magic Loop technique that I have ever seen. Check it out!

  • Down to the Last Stripe

    Me working on the baby blanket

    Yay! I’m starting the last stripe of my baby blanket. Finally! My daughter decided that she needed to snap this photo of me the other day, and is insisting that I put it on my blog. So here it is, with full photo credit to Diana. But, boy… I sure am tired at seeing that fat person in those photos! Who is she, anyway? Someone who wants to be done knitting a baby blanket, that’s who!

    What was I thinking, anyway, doing such a large project? I think this confirms for me that I am a small project kind of gal. I’m fine with that.

    I am still trying to decide whether the blanket needs an edging. I probably will, to increase the amount of blue in the pattern, since the baby is a boy. Now another co-worker is pregnant so I think next time I will do a pile of baby hats and socks. The baby is due at Christmas and is a girl. Yay, one of each to knit for this year. How fun!


    Cable-y Goodness

    Cables Volume 1: The Basics book cover

    Yesterday I received the book, Cables Volume 1: The Basics by Janet Szabo. I love this book! Ok, I think I’m a book ho. But seriously. Still. This is a good one. If you love cables like I do, or a shameless fan of Janet’s work, as I am, Go. Now.

    The book is chock full of photos and very clear instructions. The photos are black and white, which I think is a good thing, because sometimes color can be distracting in cables. So it’s really easy to see the work. She also discusses cabling without a cable needle right up front, which is how I do it, and I think that’s a very useful thing. Makes cables go a lot faster! Each chapter talks about different types of cables with photos and instructions in charts and words, and also gives you challenges to try other cabling experiments. There’s even a chapter on designing your own cables. How cool!

    So look what I found when I opened the book:

    Janet Szabo signed my book

    Wow. I wasn’t expecting a SIGNED copy! It says, “Patricia, may all your cables cross the right way!” But hey, even if they don’t, there’s a section in the book on fixing cables.

    If Volume 1 is this good, I already can’t wait for Volume 2!

  • Post Florida Blankie Update

    rainbow striped blankie in progress

    Here’s the latest blankie update photo. I haven’t measured but I think I got about six inches or so done while I was on vacation. At this moment I am planning to work my way up to the next pink stripe before calling it done, since the first stripe was pink. Then I need to decide whether the blankie needs to have a border of some sort. At this point I’m thinking maybe an attached i-cord.

    So, while doing all of this knitting in the car on my trip, I listened to and got all caught up on the podcast Lime and Violet (or should I say, Violet, sans Lime? Where is she anyway? I miss her.) This podcast isn’t as much about knitting as it is about yarn and fiber and lots of wacky conversation… though of course there is some knitting, especially socks. I definitely would not listen to this podcast around my kids, but it is hysterically funny. I even caught my DH laughing several times. Now he knows why I’ve been known to guffaw out loud at night in bed (I use my iPod as a sound abatement sleep aid!)

    I also listened to many episodes of Sticks and String, by David Reidy from somewhere in the Blue Mountains of Australia. I also love this show, as he is always talking to someone new about the world of knitting. As I was listening last week I found myself wondering whether, since he’s in Oz, if he happened to catch any of the Countdown Spectacular 2 concerts that are happening there. BSG were playing and of course since they play pretty much only on that side of the world I’ve never had a chance to see them. Have I ever mentioned that I am their WebLady? BSG of course are the principal founding members of Australia’s super-group, Little River Band. But, I digress…

    I’m almost caught up now on David’s podcasts too and will look forward to the new ones each week.


    Look, Ma! I’m Petting a Dolphin!

    Trish petting female dolphin at Sea World

    Here’s a shot of me petting a dolphin at Sea World in Orlando. I don’t get the chance to get up close to animals very often, except for my own cats of course, but this dolphin trainer called the dolphin up out of the water so I could pet her. She also showed my son how to ask the dolphin to make that clicking sound they make, and the trainer also showed us how to ask the dolphin to wave her fin at us as in waving bye-bye. It was so cool that she responded to us, and this was a highlight of our vacation. Thanks for letting me share!