I’m eager to turn the page on any day that involves hours of writing math equations, swabbing dog diarrhea*, and bickering with airline representatives over a refund (quite possibly the holy trinity of unpleasant activities). Even the comfort of an evening of knitting just around the corner is somewhat dampened when it’s a race against a deadline. Two deadlines, in fact: due to a pattern I wrote last winter having tumbled into a sort of Bermuda triangle of communication errors, I now need to produce an entirely new sock design and have the sample ready for photography and the pattern ready for tech editing by the end of the week.

Why is it that as soon as I have to be knitting a particular project, a deluge of new design ideas washes into my brain and my fingers itch to cast on something new? I think there may be as many as five garments I need to sketch before I lose the details. The fresh sock pattern is something of a blessing, since it does indulge my urge to be knitting something new, but the pressure is on to get everything done this week. 

But here’s what I’m fantasizing about knitting this fall:

– Elizabeth Zimmermann’s New Zealand sweater in Wild Plum Yorkshire Tweed, for Mr. G.

– a simple child’s pullover with Latvian braid details

– a sweet girly split-front pullover with bloused sleeves, also for a child

– my vestification (Ravelry link) of Deborah Newton’s Confectionary Tank

– a tailored cardigan vest with openwork cables in russet Simply Shetland Silk & Lambswool

– a plain cropped vest out of some yummy Scottish Tweed DK I picked up when a local yarn store was going out of business (sniffle)

– the Tangled Yoke cardi from my delicious stash of Organic Blue-faced Leicester

– 1920’s Fair Isle experiment pullover

Can you tell I’m ready for fall? I’ve been working so hard this month that it already feels like summer is over, and the rain and wind we’re having this week on the heels of a record-breaking heatwave only confirms the sentiment. I took the pup to the park yesterday morning under a grey sky, but tossed aside the fleeting thought I had about grabbing a raincoat. As we walked the twelve blocks, a few enormous drops began to come down, leaving splatters the size of silver dollars on the sidewalk. But most of them missed us, and it wasn’t until we were coming home again that the heavens really opened. The rain came down so hard it looked like white streaks falling, and it brought heavy thunder and lightning in its wake. Lark and I took shelter under a tree while the worst of it passed (the lightning hadn’t arrived yet!), but we were still drenched when we reached the house. I certainly could have used a cute woolen vest! 

So come, autumn. Come leaves to rake and pies to bake, come evening dark and firelight, come frosty air and stars burn bright. Come geese a-wing and harvest bring. The best season for knitting is almost here again.

 

* Lark is fine, if you’re reading this, O Husband. She wasn’t the culprit.

As all-consuming as knitting the yellow cardigan had to be last month, I was determined to take a break from it during Camp and work on the projects Meg had selected to teach us new techniques. The pattern she sent us ahead of time was her Spiral Yoke sweater (adapted from her book Handknitting with Meg Swansen and recently catapulted to It-Knit status as only Jared can accomplish), scaled down to baby size. I chose some Dream in Color Classy from the stash and worked the body on the plane flight to Minneapolis so I could get to the good part (the colorwork) during Camp.

These colors are November Muse (1.2? skeins) and Lunar Zazzle (.2? skeins). (November Spews and Lunar Dribble will probably be more appropriate for the sort of action it’s going to see. Yay Superwash.) I figure nothing’s more practical for a baby than variegated brown, and the turquoise/amethyst seemed right for a little guy named River.

We met little River yesterday; the sweater would come down to his knees as he’s only three weeks old. But at the rate he’s guzzling milk, he’ll be just the right size to wear it this winter.

The colors are true in this last photo. (Sometimes they wash out when I upload them here – I can’t explain it, but it happens.) I’m not totally happy with the sewn bind-off at the neck. I’d have gone tubular if I’d had my Montse Stanley on hand. But the baby won’t care as long as it’s stretchy enough to go over his head comfortably. My favorite part of this little project? Learning that the short rows to raise the back of the neck need to wrap all the way around to the sides of the chest. Valuable information for any knitter of little yoked sweaters, that. And hey, I think there’s enough yarn left to knit a 3-month size with the colors reversed for a little girl who’s due this autumn!

What a silent blog this has been – not at all what I intended for the summer. Since the last post, I’ve been in New York – Connecticut – New York – Connecticut – Massachusetts – Connecticut – New York… all in five days. Whew. But it was lovely to see all my mother’s family for a beautiful memorial service for Gram, and to tromp around the family homeland in NW Connecticut. Although I’ve never lived there, I do feel a connection to those verdant hills nestled like eggs in a basket, with their gurgling brooks and hard-won fields and white-steepled churches snug in the hollows. On Saturday we ventured north to Lenox, Mass for the wedding of college friends, then spent the night with my dear friend Lucia in her little old cottage. Sunday morning was our only spell of pure relaxation, reading the Sunday Times on her porch and watching the bees at work in the garden. I read the article about the hidden gardens of Paris and wished like mad to go traveling abroad. For now, the occasional family reunion will have to suffice, although Marika and I dreamed up plenty of trips to France and Hawai’i!

Notable now when the family gathers are the little members of the next generation. As my brother and I are the youngest on both sides, we’ve now got quite a number of first-cousins-once-removed. And they’re hilarious. I give you the following anecdotes as proof.

Avery (4) to Marika: “Now that you’re married, are you going to get a baby?”
Marika: “Oh, I hope so!” (Marika wants babies as emphatically as most people want ice cream and a new president.)
Avery: “Well, you can always just ask Santa Claus.”

My cousin Rachel’s children weren’t at the memorial, but she told us an excellent story about her daughter (also 4). They went to a Lakers game, where Lulu approached a very tall man and said to him, “You’re almost as tall as my cousin Saxton!” The very tall man was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So naturally I’m thrilled that we’ve got even more cousin-sprogs on the way, and I’m knitting and quilting for them with great dedication. I love how many knitters can spot a Baby Surprise Jacket at a hundred paces, even when you only show them a corner of it.

This little number will go to one of the two cousinlets postmarked Boston for August delivery. The yarn is Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop in two colors: I’ve Got You, Babe and an unnamed mostly green skein. I couldn’t stop knitting with this stuff. First I added a hood to use up more of the green, and then I decided I’d add some cuffs – in the end, I had only a yard or two left. I used US #4 needles, and unless the recipient is very large or very small, I anticipate s/he will be able to wear it through most of the fall and winter. I guessed about the hood size and construction, having no small babies on hand to measure. But I’ll post the directions and you can modify at will, because I think this little jacket is even more charming with a hood.

One way to add a hood to Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket

Row 1: Pick up 62 sts along the whole neck edge of the finished jacket.
Row 2: Sl 1 p-wise, k back across on the WS. On the RS, mark the st at the shoulder seam on each side.
Row 3 and following 7 RS rows: Sl 1 p-wise, k to marked st, *m1, k marked st, m1,* k to next marked st and repeat * to *, k to end.
Row 4 and following 7 WS rows: Sl 1 p-wise, k. 94 sts.
Rows 17-28: Sl 1 p-wise, k.
Row 29 and following 7 RS rows: Sl 1 p-wise, k to marked st, ssk, k to st before next marked st, k2tog, k to end.
Row 30 and following 6 WS rows: Sl 1 p-wise, k across, but p marked sts. 78 sts.

Work short rows to shape top of hood:
Row 44a (WS): Sl 1 p-wise, k to 4 sts before marked st, *yfwd as if to p, sl next st, yarn back as if to knit, return slipped st to left needle, turn work and K back to front edge on RS.* You have “wrapped” one st and worked a short row.
Row 44b (WS): Sl 1 p-wise, k to 4 sts before wrapped st and repeat * to *.
Row 44c (WS): Sl 1 p-wise, k across, but p marked sts. When you meet the wrapped sts, use the left needle tip to lift the rear strand of the wrap, then k tog the st and its wrap.
Row 45a (RS): Sl 1 p-wise, k across, but p marked sts to 4 sts before marked st, *yfwd as if to p, sl next st, yarn back as if to knit, return the slipped st to left needle, turn work and K back to front edge on WS.*
Row 45b (RS): Sl 1 p-wise, k across, but p marked sts to 4 sts before wrapped st and repeat * to *.
Row 45c (RS): Sl 1 p-wise, k across, but p marked sts, working wraps tog with their sts as in 44c, to second marked st, k2tog tbl, turn.
Row 46: Sl 1 p-wise with yarn in front, k to marked st, p2tog, turn.
Row 47: Sl 1 p-wise with yarn in back, k to marked st, k2tog tbl, turn.
Row 48: As Row 46.

Now you are closing up the top of the hood by working only on the central sts and joining them to the side sts at the end of each short row. Continue to work as established: the side sts will gradually be consumed; the number of central sts will remain unchanged as the fabric grows toward the front of the hood.

When 3 sts remain unworked at either side, work a yo for a buttonhole in the middle of the central section so you can fold the hood brim back and secure it on top of the baby’s wee noggin. Work the last 3 ridges and BO, slipping the remaining side st to begin and purling tog the last 2 sts at the end for a smooth edge.

Secure ends, sew a button to the top of the hood, and there you have it! Add little matching split cuffs to the sleeves as a point of style if you wish.