Modelling Her Coral Top

I totally forgot that I had taken the following photo. My niece and favorite model was about to be fetched by her other grandma for their date to The Playroom:


This was the first child garment I had ever made successfully, which I blogged about here. I'm so pleased with this photo.

Summer Lace

Not bad for three hours' work last night, eh? I was knitting while watching the very gothic season 2 of the BBC's mid-90s supernatural fantasy Hex. Ok, I did make some mistakes that way ("...k1, yo, k3, sl1, psso, k3... wait wait wait. Where did this @#$%^&*!!! 2-stitch HOLE come from?"). I actually ripped out 3 rows in episode 3 while Roxanne puts on a cross necklace to draw attention to her tempting cleavage and goes out to seduce her teacher, a young priest. By the time I had corrected myself and got the hang of the pattern, the deed was done and the priest was pondering his foray into sin.

Materials:
Addi Turbo circular needles, 4.5mm
1 cone Monaco beige glace "Raylon" (it's softer than you think, and has a nice sheen)

Horseshoe Stitch Pattern
["One of many beautiful stitches that originated in the Shetland Islands in the nineteenth century, when gossamer laces were a favorite form of knitting."]
(page 305, Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979 edition):

Multiple of 10 stitches plus 1

Row 1: K1, *yo, K3, sl1, K2tog, psso, K3, yo, K1*
Row 2 and alt rows: Purl
Row 3: K1, *K1, yo, K2, sl1, K2tog, psso, K2, yo, K2*
Row 5: K1, *K2, yo, K1, sl1, K2tog, psso, K1, yo, K3*
Row 7: K1, *K3, yo, sl1, K2tog, psso, K4*

To make the narrow wrap, knit 10 rows of garter stitch, then add 5 garter stitches at the beginning and end of each row as a selvedge. My wrap has a cast on of 61 sts, although to make it wider, you can make it 71 sts.

I figure the blocked and ironed finished item should measure something like 9" wide and 60" long. Perfect for when you want to go to the movies and still have to brave the heat of our summer sun after.

Pen Tubes and Such

I knitted an apple green prototype pen tube for my Jinhao X750 (a fat black cigar with a B nib) as a prototype. Nice and soft, but thin. Also being crochet cotton it is always in danger of staining. Since January I have made three other prototypes in acrylic, two of which ended up like this:

and one of which turned out better knitted bottom-up. From now on I will make all my pen tubes that way. The more I do that method of casting on, the less complicated it gets. I suppose for someone who prefers to top-down socks one day I will actually be able to finish a bottom-up pair.

The attractive and spicy-looking crocheted gadget garment on the right of the green pen tube was made by Incredible Joie, for our shared Nikon Coolpix around first week of February. She used worsted weight Red Heart acrylic (must look for colorway in case someone asks later). Plus points: water doesn't seep in on an accidental spill, great cushioning, easy to find in deep dark bag.

I am trying to make a two-pen case. Some people of course might not think them presentable enough, but I actually use everything I have ever made, and if it works for my purposes, I will put them to good use.

Erika Knight's Classic Knits

Last Sunday my sister and I visited Bestsellers at the top floor of Robinson's Galleria extension. I have always struck gold in book sales there, and I found a copy of Erika Knight's Classic Knits that had lost its dustcover. Got it for Php250 (about USD 5).

Yes, this one.

Two days ago we visited the Fully Booked flagship store in The Fort, and the same book was going for PhP 1039 (about USD 21)! It was meant for me.