The Soapy Knitter

10 years and 6 days ago, an adorable little girl was born. She quickly blossomed into a very smart and cute toddler.

Now this little girl is my right-hand man. Oops, Young Lady. She can run this house probably better than me. I’m proud of who she is and I know that she will always try to be the best that she can be. For her birthday, I decided to knit her a dress. She’s very very appreciative of all things hand-made. After all, she knits/crochets/sews herself! So I know that if I made her something she will save it until HER daughter can wear it!

I chose Anne’s Vine Flower Dress (Knit Spot). As you all know, I simply adore all of Anne’s patterns. (Have you guys SEEN her new Little Nothing’s?? My favorite is Alhambra. I’m sooo there!)

This particular pattern was written for toddlers. Two years ago, when I first bumped into Anne’s blog and purchased this pattern, I emailed her a bunch of questions on how can I make this fit my then 8-year-old!! Anne was sweet enough to reply saying that just some math and mods, etc. She might as well been speaking Greek cuz it took me THIS long to figure out what the hell she meant! Out came my design notebook and pencil and calculator and I got to work. I rewrote the entire pattern to fit Esmie’s measurements (also guided by the standard child measurements).  I also have the pattern written out to knit one for Li’l Rosi in a size smaller than this one. Now, you tell me, doesn’t this dress look ADORABLE??

This was a fast knit for me. I loved the yarn, TLC Cotton, which was recommended to me by Jeanine (thanks babe!!!). It worked out great. Esmie wore her dress to school with great pride and I know that she will always treasure it!

Vine Flower Dress

Source: Knit Spot

Yarn: TLC Cotton, Color: Rose

Needles: Size US 6 & 8 Cost: $2.69 per skein, used 3.75, total: $10.09 (!)

Started: March 21, 2008

Finished: March 29, 2008

Mods: I knit this to fit a 10-yr-old. I will be sending my calculations for this size plus a size smaller to Anne who will then decide if she should include larger sizes with this pattern.

As I was knitting my EZ ribwarmer during some of my Noontime Knitters classes at work, many would ask, “Why is it called a RIBwarmer?” Well, that’s a very good question.

If you go by how it fits me, it does warm my ribs. Although on some people, it fits right under the boobages.

“Well, why didn’t she just call it a vest?”

Because, she’s Elizabeth Zimmerman and she did NOTHING that would conform to normal knitting or garment practices.

The ribwarmer pattern is a very easy and quick knit. The pattern is simple. You just need ONE magic number and everything is based off that.

Go grab your favorite wool and cast on! You won’t regret it.

EZ Ribwarmer

Source: Spunout #42 - Ribwarmer Revisited
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Potluck Bulky (Earth colorway), Patons Classic Wool Merino (Black)

Needles: Size US 10

Key Number (this is the magic # to calculate your pattern): 12

Total cost: $39.44 (Patons Classic Wool - $5.99 per skein, used .25, $1.50
CTH Potluck Bulky - $7.50 per skein, used 3.81, $28.58
4 Toggle buttons from M&J Trimming in NYC - $2.25 each, $9 total
4 small buttons - .09 each, .36 total)
Started: sometime in January 2008

Finished: February 17, 2008
Mods & Notes: Not a bad total cost for a fantastically warm and comfy vest. I love how this turned out.

I did the applied I-cord edging, with the button loops. I also did the back short-row shaping. I did NOT do the back all in one piece. I chose to do the back seam and leave the bit open at the center-back. For the buttons, I sewed the toggles with smaller buttons under the fabric to make them sturdier.

Lately, I’ve been knitting socks to add to my stash. I’m usually bored with the many sock patterns out there so I’ve been mostly knitting on the different architectures from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. I ADORE this book and have been using it like crazy. When I received it, I immediately had it spiral bound because I knew it was a keeper. I’ve finished 3 pairs and have 3 in WIP-mode. To me, Cat Bordhi is the Elizabeth Zimmerman of sock knitting! She unvented how we normally knit our socks and has presented us with many different methods to do our toes and heels and gussets in this book. I hear this is the first of a series maybe for Cat. WOO HOO! I can’t wait for the next ones.

The first pair I finished were part of her two practice socks. I knit both of the practice ones and made one into a pair to be gifted.

The next pair are my Very Tall Tibetan Socks.

I doubled Trekking Pro Natura for this pair. It makes for some warm socks, I tell you that! They’re comfortable for the most part, except for the purl bumps on the inside of your foot as with any handknit socks when you first wear them. The fit is INCREDIBLE on any of Cat’s designs in this book.

Tall Tibetan Socks

Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura (doubled, colorway #1603)
Total Cost: $17.50 per skein (altho, 1 skein was a gift; I used most of both skeins)
Needles: Size US 5
Mods: I knit a similar pattern for the leg as the one in the book but not the exact one. I also kept knitting until I ran out of yarn, as opposed to the anklets shown in the book.

Another pair that I finished are the Spiraling Master Coriolis socks. These have stitches that run up the foot and spiral all the way around the leg design. A very easy knit. The fit is OK as long as I don’t pull the socks all the way up as the spiral make the sock a bit tight on the leg in places. So I wear my socks scrunched down.

Spiraling Master Coriolis

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock (Pinstripe colorway)
Total Cost: about $16
Needles: Size US 1.5
Mods: None really, except add a few extra sts to the leg to make it wider.

I’ve been so into my New Pathways socks and inspired by my coworker, Knitting Leftie (who puts her Knit Notes book to full use) I decided to make labels for my Knit Notes pad from The Loopy Ewe instead of carrying the whole New Pathways book around everywhere. Yes, I’m anal, OCD, whatever you wanna call it. Shut up.

If anyone has the book and would like copies of my label set-up drop me an email.