After Midnight

Hello:

It's after midnight, and the weather has turned cold and rainy.  I hope that it is snowing in the mountains.  I worked all day today.  I trained for this International Test Proctor job for 6 hours.  I was able to knit a bit during the training.  I worked on the second of the 2014 Sampler Mystery KAL blanket square patterns.  I just realized that I don't have a photo of the square.

The squares are supposed to be about 6 inches each.  I doubled the first square, and, although I dropped down a needle size, I got a 15 in. square.

Since this is for a baby that is due in May, I am going to make two big squares for each of the first 4 patterns, and then one more square and sew them together for a 3 x 3 square blanket that will be about 45 in x 45 in without a border.

I finished one square of the second pattern, and cast on another square in that pattern.  That is what I knit today.  I should have been able to make more progress, but I wanted to take notes... Darn that Working!  I wasn't able to get a photo of the finished pattern 2 square, but will take one tomorrow morning before I leave for work if possible.

Right now I have the first row, and I will try to get that sewn together.  I need to sew together the red and black squares that I have finished for my Godson's afghan, too.  I have learned that sewing as you go is the best way to finish an afghan quickly.

I also wanted to post photos of the finished Mermaid costume:

The tail is pretty long, so it is hard to squish it all into one photo.

Here is the tail:

the sea shell bikini top:

and a close up of the sea star headband:

You can just see the sparkles in the aqua Caron Simply Soft Party yarn.  The tail was made with that yarn and Caron Simply Soft Paints in Spring Brook held together and a size N crochet hook.  The Sea Shell top is also Caron Simply Soft.  It is something old from my stash so I'm not sure of the exact color, but it looked sort of coral so I used it.

I hope to post a photo of my Great Niece wearing the outfit (after she is born... of course).

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a mermaids tail

Photos of things I've already posted about...

Hello!  No great photo of the lake today as we are having dreary rainy weather. I hate to complain because I spoke to Moogie who is in NYC and she said it was 11 F today. EEEK!  Instead I will post some photos of the projects that I talked about yesterday.

I will talk about the first square of the 2014 Sampler Mystery Knit-a-Long by Marie Segares at the end of this post because I will show a photo of the square, and if you are doing that KAL and don't want to see the square yet, well, you have been warned.

Age of Brass and Steam

It is being blocked as I type.  I pinned it out this morning and tried to get a decent photo but...  We are having gloom and rain, and I blocked it downstairs in the basement where there isn't much light.  We have a daylight basement, meaning that it opens to the outside since we are on a hill, but we have a deck over the doors out, and did I mention that it was gloomy and raining today? 

There was one other problem with getting a decent photo of the scarf, as you can see:

Why, Beena?  Why?  The minute I had it pinned down she ran and sat on it.  Well, at least you can sort of see the size.  I haven't woven in the ends yet, but will when I take the pins out.  I don't like to weave in the ends of things that will be stretched when blocked in case the woven parts get wonky.  I didn't stretch this very much.  I like the size of the front part, but I did want it to be a little longer at the sides or arms.  I can't wait to wear this!

Lady Igraine Socks by Heatherly Walker

I still need about 2 inches to the legs.  I hope to get that done tonight and move onto the heels tomorrow.

This is the right side,

and here is the wrong side or inside side:

I almost like the inside more.

Pattern 1 for the 2014 Mystery Sampler KAL

This was a simple knit and purl texture pattern. 

The blanket calls for 6 in. squares, but I doubled the pattern part of the square.  Does that make sense?  There is a four stitch border on either side, and a twelve stitch repeat.  The pattern calls for the twelve stitch repeat to be knit two times.  I knit the four stitch border, then knit the twelve stitch repeat four times, then knit the four stitch border again.  I am using Caron One Pound in  Light Green.  My niece in law asked for mint green, and this was the closest I could find. 

The squares need to be relatively tight, but I don't want them to be too stiff.  I think the designer recommends a US size 8 needle, but since I am a loose knitter, I used size 6.  Ha ha ha ha, my square is 15" x 15"

I will probably make nine squares in total.  That will make a big enough blanket for a newborn.

I also started an Emma's First Hat today.  This cute little newborn hat was designed by our own VanesaPolo for her new baby.  It is a quick fun knit and I love the finished hat.  I knit a couple last year.  I will either give this hat to our local hospital's NICU or Seattle Children's Hospital.  This hat is for the first game of Quidditch.  We are to pick one of the professional Quidditch teams, then craft something that fits the team's attributes.  The team I have chosen is the Tutshill Tornadoes.  Anything knit in the round fits a Tornado's attributes.  There should be bonus points for crafting for charity, too.