Sports trumps knitting; Secret Pal rules!

First off, a huge thank you to my secret pal for my new bevy of gifts - a needle case and a variety of lovely yarn. I didn't get a chance to take a photo to post yet, but I shall. I'm pretty amazed that my SP has even had time to think of me - she has a lot going on in her life.

Because I live in New England and am a sports fan, not much knitting has happened in a few days. I gave my officemate a lesson on Friday and got her started on a ribbon scarf. Might be tricky as a first project - the ribbon is wide and it's easy to poke through it. But, she caught on pretty fast and made some progress on it over the weekend. I also loaned my daughter's teacher my copy of Stitch and Bitch. Guess I'm a knitting evangelist now.

Why not much knitting of my own? On Saturday and Sunday I was nursing a case of Red Sox fever. We had friends over for Saturday's game (knitting around barbecue unadvised), and yesterday my husband and son went to the Patriots game, leaving me in sole charge of baby daughter. Thus knitting group was out, and I was too nervous watching the Sox victory to pick up the needles. I'm keeping the faith.

Harry back and furry boot

I finished the back of the Harry Potter/Weasley sweater and am about 2" into the front. It's time to make the decision whether to do the initial intarsia or duplicate stitch. On the pro intarsia side, I think it will look neater and it will be an opportunity to learn how to do it right (I have limited 2-color knitting experience). On the pro-duplicate stitch side, I could theoretically rip out the R in a few years and add my daughter's initial instead (ever the frugal knitter). On the anti-duplicate stitch side, it would be a whole lotta duplicate stitch to sew. Hmm. Stay tuned to find out what happens.

Also included in the photo below - about half of the back to my 3XChic, which I am loving, and one baby Ugg-style bootie. I tried it on my daughter and it fit perfectly! The other bootie is in progress. Oh, and the baby sweaters were gifted on Saturday. Alas, my photo of them is blurry but I'll see if someone else at the shower took a good one.

Boots, food and seams

Check out this pattern for "Ugg" style books knitted in Berroco Suede. So cute! The Candy Babies book also has a crochet version of the pattern. Someone gave me a handmade pair of mini-Uggs made out of the other kind of suede, but if they don't fit maybe I'll use this pattern for slippers for the boy.

I supplied two recipes (Millionaire Shortbread and Warehouse Store Salad) for the Knitting Bloggers Cookbook - entries are being accepted until October 31. Millionaire shortbread is a chocolate caramel cookie bar that I first had on our honeymoon in Scotland. The salad is a lettuce-guacamole-beans-and-corn type thing I threw together after a Costco run.

Twins baby shower is tomorrow, so I'm seaming up the Plush baby sweaters (will take a photo before gifting). And I finished the back of the Weasley sweater. On to the front and my intarsia adventure.

You win this round, Schaefer Anne

Thought I might get a jump on my holiday knitting this past weekend by starting a scarf in the Schaefer Anne I had bought at a sale a few months back. At knitting group I started on Clapotis from the current Knitty, but realized it was not something I could work on at home with small children around. I then started Cozy, also from Knitty, but same problem - I'd get interrupted and forget where I was in the pattern. D'oh! I'll give you one more try, Schaefer Anne - I have a pattern from the Interweave Staff Scarves special (not the Pooling colors - I'm already impatient with Anne as it is) that is simpler.

Betsy reminded me that I still haven't yet knit anything for myself, so I decided to begin my first sweater for me - 3xChic in Sirdar Denim Chunky. So far, so good!

Names changed to protect the innocent

Well, who'd have thought...there was someone else out there with a (mainly) knitting blog who called herself Dilettante. Oops. My bad. I had checked Blogger and LiveJournal before choosing this moniker, but didn't think to Google. So now I'm the Dilettante Debutante. I'll keep the old url until I get a chance to make a new blog and link this one to it.

Still working on Weasley sweater, about to begin 3xchic and debating whether to use my nice green Shaefer Anne for a Clapotis or Cosy. If you have an opinion, press 1 now. I mean, leave a comment.

British things and baby sweaters

People who know me well already know that I'm kind of an Anglophile (did a semester abroad and still have many UK friends), particularly where music and TV are concerned (alert! The Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be showing British TV Advertisements of 2003 starting October 13th). So, I am finding it kind of fun to be using the WeasleyAlong yarn that comes from New Lanark, Scotland (i.e. the Yarn Warehouse kit). It admittedly isn't the softest yarn in the world, but New Lanark is an historic mill and uses restored equipment to produce its yarn. American readers, think Sturbridge Village or Colonial Williamsburg as equivalents, although not having been to New Lanark I can't tell you whether they have the same sometimes annoying "in-character" docents like they do at the above spots and at the now-closed Museum of the Moving Image in London. Well, I'm assuming the yarn I'm using is produced that way. I find it nicer to think that it is. If you know for a fact that it is actually mass-manufactured in East Kilbride, please don't tell me. Navy Weasley sweater back progress depicted below, along with one nearly finished Plush baby sweater. Still have half a front and sleeves for the second to go - baby shower on 10/16. If I have enough white yarn left I'll do a crab stitch edging in addition to I-cord ties.

Okay, maybe socks can wait...

My Harry Potter sweater kit from Yarn Warehouse in the UK was waiting for me when I got home! Only took six days from placing the order, so if you want to join the knitalong there's plenty of time. The yarn is 90% wool, 10% silk...we may have scratchiness issues with the boy, but he can wear a t-shirt under it. He was very excited to see the package once I told him what it was. He asked why there was a small hank of tan yarn, and I told him it was for the R on the front of the sweater. He asked if he could see the yarn, examined it carefully, and said, "But I don't *see* an R on it!" What a cute kid. I am going to need some help with the British pattern instructions though. Anyone know whether "Mark armhole at nn cms" means simply to place markers there, or would I decrease a stitch or two as most patterns require for armhole shaping?

I'm trying socks

With Anouk finished and successfully worn by my daughter at her birthday party (and spilled upon with juice and removed before cake consumption and further potential staining) and my Potter sweater kit not yet arrived, I'm trying my hand at socks. I have about 4 inches of ankle complete (using Regia in Power Ranger-worthy primary colors), and am about to start the heel. Photos of Anouked girl as soon as Daddy gets them off the camera. And my son decided to wear the hoodie I made for him to school today! Aww.