Swatchless

What a very cool idea….thanks @thommypancakes for showing me this very inspiring website!

How about some knitted neurons for your biology class…

image source: discovermagazine.com

…or a complete knitted brain…

image source: discovermagazine.com

…or a knitted alternative to frog dissection…

image source: discovermagazine.com

When geeky creative people have too much time on their hands, it is amazing what can get created.

What geeky knitting have you done recently?

Today the latest robot hat got modelled.  They are starting to be an interesting fashion trend–kids wear their unique hats to our team meetings!

It is wonderful to have knitting appreciated this much!  I look forward to making a few more before our next team competition, but I’m not sure what other “creative” things I can add to these hats.

Any ideas?

Knitting with orange makes me happy!  It is not usually the colour I’d reach for when making baby clothes, but for this particular project it is perfect!  At least one parent has a particular love of all things orange.

These are the first soakers I’ve ever knit.  The pattern is Curly Purly Soaker.  Knit in the round, seamlessly with no need for elastic at the waistband due to the elasticity of the ribbing knit on extra small needles.  I look forward to meeting the little man that will proudly wear the orange underpants.  I wish him (and his parents) well on his arrival!

What is your favourite colour for baby knits?

Spring is here, which finds me digging through my yarn stash, looking for bright colours, and lighter weight yarns, and thinking of making things other than hats and mitts!  Apart from the threat of flurries tomorrow it is really starting to feel like the seasons have changed.

They daylight lasts longer, and the birds are chirping and flowers are pushing up through the warming soil…..and I’m knitting robot hats.

Here’s one for the MC of the competition.  The red is added because that’s his team’s colour.  Hopefully he’ll wear it while he announces our matches.

Here’s another one for one of our presenters.  There are holes all over the hat to let his curls out.  In theory, it’s going to be awesome.

There is a cute detail added to this hat.

Our robotics team has heart!

Image courtesy of ski.canada.travel

Sad news:  While skiing this week the most fabulous robot balaclava hat/mask has been lost by our team’s driver somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Tremblant.  If you happen to see a blue robot squid balaclava, please let me know!

At the Competition

At Walmart

At Subway

At least this hat has had a lot of fun while with our team.  We hope that it can be found, specially before our tournament in Toronto (April 1-3)

glowing tentacles on the bus

In the mean time….if this hat is never found…what is a suitable alternative/punishment??  We’ve brainstormed several ideas

1. Wearing a tentacle moustache on a string
2. Wearing tentacles on a hairband

What do you suggest as an alternative for this magnificent hat?

I want to thank everyone for the great birthday gifts….and well wishes yesterday.

On the knitting front, my aunt gave me a book I’ve eyed at the library for a long time.

It is full of great basic instructions to knit many different garments.  I’m excited to read about the different kinds of seamless sweater construction methods.

Check it out at your library, or order yourself a copy.  It is a good read.

I’m fond of Zimmerman’s witty side comments that punctuate her instructions.  She must have been an interesting woman!

The past few days were spent on the road at a FIRST robotics competition in Pittsburgh.  It is a rewarding and exhausting way to spend a weekend, and such fun to see the students learn and compete, and be so proud of their accomplishments.

One of my accomplishments over the weekend was to knit up 4 robot hats!

Hat #1: complete with ponytail holder so our long haired girls can keep their hair back.

Hat #2: Headband knit in team colours following the “Jaywalker Sock” method of creating zigzags.  Team number is sewn on later.

Hat #3: Robot eyes are beaded, and there are beads around the base of the hat, hanging down from strings.  This hat is a bit noisy, but certainly stands out in a crowd.

Hat #4: Striped hat, with an onion on top!  Robot was embroidered on after hat complete.  Team number stitched on too.

There is a 5th hat that was finished on the bus ride home, but it has not yet been photographed.

I’m afraid that most of the knitting going on here will be robot hats until our competition in Toronto on April 1-3.

It is fun to knit something ridiculous every now and again!

It was a very productive weekend.  Not only did I sing in a choir concert, but somehow time was also dedicated to this little sweater which is now just about completed!  It needs a few ends sewn in, and a good blocking, and it will be good to go.  I love the yarn Life DK; it feels like wool, but is a machine washable blend of 75% acrylic and 25% wool. In case you are wondering, this colour was 2346 “Mixtures Blue Haze”

This little sweater vest will fit a 2-3 year old, but in the mean time, it is long enough to be a sweater dress for a 6-9 month old.  I polled several mothers who agreed with my measurements and my logic.  Can’t you imagine a darling baby girl wearing this over tights?

I might just have to get another colour and test knit my pattern!  The entire sweater vest took less than 100g of yarn, and the pattern is only 90 rows, but each row is different from the last.

The pattern will be available later this spring.  If any patient knitter with an eye for detail would like to test knit the pattern, please contact me!

The torch is lit again, and red mittens are on hands everywhere.

Paralympic red mittens are similar to the Olympic red mittens, but with the Paralympic logo on the back of the hand.  Did you know that it is impossible to purchase a pair of these mittens?  HBC isn’t selling them.    Why not knit a pair of 2010 mittens, with proceeds going to the Penguins Can Fly swim team for disabled children.  Maybe sometime in the future, there will be Penguins in the summer Paralympic games!

The torch relay is continuing until the Paralympics start on March 12th.  I hope to catch some of the sports on TV.  I’m intrigued to learn more about the sports, and various adaptations that are incorporated to allow a great variety of athletes to participate.

An update on the Red Mitten fundraising….

thanks mom for the pizza!

We’re at the $1600 mark.  Thanks to the generous knitters out there who are supporting some very amazing children, and helping them achieve great things.

Thanks to all the twitter knitters out there for your great pattern suggestions.

The popular patterns were:

The Fae Folk Hat [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

and Ishbel [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

but….I am not in the mood for something fiddly like lace right now.  I seem to be in the mood for something totally different and fiddly in another way entirely.

image source: ravelry.com

This is a pattern called “Some Assembly Required” [Ravelink]

As soon as I read the pattern blurb, I knew it was PERFECT for me!

“Warning! Some Assembly Required is extreme knitting! This is not suitable for beginners. Please review the techniques list before purchase. The pattern may be hard, but it will be worth it.

Some Assembly Required is a pattern that will enable you to make an adorable toy that can be taken apart and put together again. The head, torso, and legs are independent pieces, so you could make multiple pieces in different colors and they would be interchangeable.”

I’m not sure WHEN I’ll get the chance to knit this….maybe a paralympic knitting project?  I am comforted by the fact that it is in smallish pieces, so I will feel the thrill of accomplishment many times as the project grows.

Thanks again to yarn piggy from flying pig knits for giving me the pattern!