It’s midnight Chez Garter and even the cat thinks I should be in bed (he’ll be changing his tune in just five hours, sadly). I can’t say I’m wide awake; it’s more that I’m going crosseyed over a pattern from the 1890s and singing the new crochet anthem.

I have a wary relationship with crochet. Mostly I pretend it doesn’t exist. I comprehend it enough to work a chain of stitches along the edge of something I’ve knitted, just to tidy it up. But the most technical I’ve gotten with the hook thus far was for the ear flap ties of the Trapper Hat last winter. Chain n stitches? Sure thing. But “1 single crochet on treble stitch of last round, 3 chain, 2 treble in same place as the single crochet is worked into, miss one treble stitch of last round, and repeat”? That’s Martian talk.

But we like to remain undaunted here at Blue Garter. There was a time, after all, when I didn’t know how to make an increase without leaving a hole, nor how to pair slanted decreases. So I resorted to my usual line of attack: I surfed the mighty internet, found some instructions, and puzzled out treble crochet. It took me several repetitions to figure out what I was doing structurally, but pretty soon I was hooking like a pro. And hey, the results are worth the rapidly diminishing eyesight! All those perfect little square holes to run my ribbon through – that’s a useful addition to the bag o’ tricks. (Don’t ask me to perform double crochet, though.)

Monday morning: Sorry, guys. Pictures and pattern to come soon – a power outage knocked out the computer during the night and I haven’t been able to resurrect the internet connection, so I can’t upload photos of my rockin’ crochet edging just yet. Tech Chief Mr. Garter isn’t home until Thursday night, so I’m blogging from the library. Let’s have three cheers for your friendly neighborhood socialist organization, eh? Anyway, the pictures are going to be awfully cute, so stay tuned.

New York City has decided to favor me with one last beautiful snowfall before my departure. The icy little flakes are gilding the berry clusters on the mystery tree I never did manage to identify (a blow to the pride of this woodland girl, I can tell you) and sizzling down the chimney onto the firewood I’ll never burn. I’m drinking one last glass of tea from the adorable shop downstairs before I pack away the kettle and the last of the glasses. It’s a bit of a woebegone day for me. Tomorrow the movers will come and I’ll have one last hurrah with my Spiders. And then on Tuesday we’re off to the next chapter. Time is passing shockingly fast. In fact, I’ve wasted more time staring out the window at the snow than I’m willing to admit.
So let’s turn to more cheerful thoughts. When I alight in Portland, it will be Spring. I’d almost forgotten how much earlier the season comes in the temperate west. My belle-mere, with whom we’re settling at least for the first couple of months, is an excellent gardener. I’ll have the chance to really get my hands in the dirt. In no time I’ll be photographing my knitting among the tulips and rosebuds instead of against the brick and concrete of my deck here. Mr. Garter’s mom is also a lapsed knitter, and she gets inspired when I’m around, so I’ll have a companion in the craft. And I’ll have all this to knit up:

Behold the European yarn haul: an absurd amount of chocolate tweed wool/alpaca for the Cabled Riding Jacket (I’m so nuts about this stuff I’m thinking of asking my friend in Milan to bring MORE when she comes to the States in April); enough wine-colored wool/angora for a sinfully soft, lacey sweater I’ll probably design myself; and two yummy hanks of wool I’ve earmarked for some kind of fair isle mitten pattern. Not the Pirate mittens, I think – the colors aren’t piratic enough. I’ve been eyeing that Foxes & Geese mittens book, whatever it’s actually called, and maybe there’s something in there that will call to me.

So much fabulous knitting to be done, and I’ll have lots of time for it, at least for a couple of months. Definitely something to look forward to. I’m scrambling to finish Cozy for my sister-in-law so I can hand it over when I see her in two weeks, and I had to dash off a pair of my favorite Koigu ruffle-rib booties for new baby Tyler, whom my cousin produced in February:

But it’s almost time to cast on something new. I’m bringing everything I need for the Hourglass Sweater – what’s better car knitting than endless stockinette? – as well as my trusty Montse Stanley in case I need to bust out a provisional cast-on on the road. And I’ve had one sorry Retro Rib sock languishing mateless in my drawer since October, so I’m bringing the yarn for that, too.

I’m chasing the sun west, my friends. Good things must follow. Change is opportunity. Now if I can just discipline myself to finish packing the last two $*@#ing boxes…

I’m going to reprint the pattern for the moonbooties here. I think it’s acceptable to do so because it was copied for me by my LYS from a photocopy from a 1989 Threads Magazine. A 95-year-old woman named Christine Bourquin had sent it in because she didn’t want the pattern to die with her, so I’m honoring her wish. I’ve rewritten a few sections that were confusing to me, and I’ve added directions for a larger size, too. This pattern is very easy to adjust to fit your gauge, so feel confident that you can experiment until it suits your yarn and the baby you’re knitting for. Grab the PDF file for the pattern here: moonbooties

Materials: Any fingering- or sock-weight yarn (I used Trekking XXL), and a set of five double pointed needles in the appropriate size (I used US #2). You may find a small crochet hook useful to make the ties, but you can use ribbon if you prefer.

Sizes given are for a newborn, with 3-6 months size in parentheses.

CO 10 (12) sts.

Work sole: K 36 (48) rows straight in garter stitch until sole measures about 3″ (4″). Leave the 10 (12) sts on Needle 1. With Needle 2, pick up 18 (24) sts along one side. With Needle 3, pick up 10 (12) sts at the cast-on edge, and with Needle 4, pick up 18 (24) sts along the other side. 56 (72) sts.

Work welts for foot: Taking care to keep working around in the same direction, P 4 rounds, K 4 rounds, P 4 rounds, K 4 rounds, P 4 rounds.

Work top of foot: K back across 9 (11) of the sts on N1. Slip the 10th (12th) st to N4 and knit it together with the closest st on N4, returning the new st to N1. 10 (12) sts. Turn and purl back across N1, slipping the last st to N2 and purling it together with the closest N2 st. In this manner, work 16 (24) rows, always keeping 10 (12) sts on N1. You should have 10 (12) sts left on N2 and on N4 and 40 (48) sts in all.

Work ankle: K around the 40 (48) sts for the ankle. To prevent a hole at the end of the first round, pick up 1 extra st from the gap and knit it together with the 1st st on the 2nd round. Work 2 more rounds.

Work eyelet row and cuff: Make eyelets for the ties on the 4th round: *K2, yo, k2tog* 10 (12) times. K 22 rounds and BO.

Finishing: Weave in ends. Crochet or finger-knit two chains of sts about 12″ long each for the ties (or use ribbon) and thread through eyelets. Tie a bow at the front.

It was a weekend for knitted gifts.

Here’s baby Alex, quite well grown for his three-and-a-half months, sporting his new footwear. I’m calling these moonbooties for their decided resemblance to ’70s moonboots. But they stay on beautifully, and they’ll fit the little fellow for at least another month or two. Apparently even the doctors remarked on his large feet when he was born!

And here’s Marika in her clapotis:

May it keep her warm through many hours of studying at the barbarously air-conditioned NYU library!