Cyberman Continues

Ok, this is a sweater for an 18-month-old (mine) boy and features the Cyberman picture I created (below).

I did the front quite quickly. I'm kind of busking the measurements on the raglan sleeves and neckline, but I'm trying to remember to write down what I've done.

The back went really well. I worked the sleeve decreases and the back of the neck, cast off for the shoulders and then, yes THEN, I remembered about the size of toddler's heads in relation to the rest of their bodies....

Actually I had remembered about it before I cast on, and intended to build in a button-up opening in the back, but I had knitted the back while doing something else and completely forgotten all my good intentions.

So I ripped back a few rows and tried again.

When I had finished the opening and cast off again I realised that it was still woefully too small and I was going to have to go back almost all the way to where I started the armhole decreases.

It's a good thing it's a small sweater and knitted in worsted.

But we're back on track now. I'm knitting up one side of the back with a built-in button band. I still have no idea if it'll really fit him, but I'm having fun.

The body is in black, the Cyberman is in Berroco Metallix FX silver/black and the sleeves will be in a grey that sort of matches (not quite) the silver. The collar will be, hmm, whatever I feel like when I get there. Probably black, given that it is to be worn by a small boy with a slovenly mother who forgets about bibs until it's too late.

Don't Take Away My Yarn!

A quote that made me laugh, from a fellow knit-blogger, who is having a hard time going back to work after the latest baby.

"As I was having that good cry, though, my husband put things in perspective--'We could probably live on my salary you know...we'd have to give up some things...books, movies, braces for the kids, yarn...' Wait a minute, buddy...back the truck up...you're talking crazy now..."

I Can Knit ANYTHING

I think my knitting obsession is getting noticed.

I made a website for my three-year-old, featuring his favourite cars from a Hot Wheels movie (oh yes, they make movies).

He was touched that I had made it especially for him. To demonstrate this, as he was looking through it, he said in awe and wonder,

"Oh wow! Did you knit this for ME?"

Sock Wars -- Somebody Stop Me

Oh Lordy, I LOVE this idea .

I am not an accomplished sock knitter, nor am I lacking in projects, but I like a community challenge, and this one would guarantee me a pair of hand-knitted socks at the end!

Cable Scarf

Cable Scarf
Originally uploaded by jwordsmith.

This is the yarn from Shady Side Farm Studio, wot I bought last month at the Knit and Crochet Show.

There are many other things I should be knitting right now, but I needed to play with this. It is delicious. And, much as I like the pattern (from Pieknits) I think I need it to be wider. Might have to frog. But then again, that just means I'll get to knit this lovely yarn again.

Oh, and by the way, that is a really really big ball of yarn, not an incredibly tiny scarf.

Knitting for the Blind

No, I mean: Knitting, For the Blind.

I just came across this, instructions on how to get knitting instructions on cassette, from the Royal National Institute for the Blind amongst others.

What a great idea, I thought. How equal-opportunities.

Then I thought, wa-a-a-it a minute....knitting when blind? Now that would present a challenge. It's not impossible, and surely a blind person would be able to appreciate the tactile nature of knitting and yarn but my goodness the learning curve would be something.

Then I began to wonder, how much of my knitting is reliant on feel and rhythm, and how much on looking at what I'm doing? And it's not the finished products that give me the greatest pleasure; no, it's the actual knitting process.

So if I lost my eyesight yes, I would be thrilled to discover that there were patterns on tape.

And I suppose it's not only the blind who could benefit from this. It is hard to keep a book open while holding two pointy sticks in your hands, after all.

Cyberman Knit

Cyberman Knit
Originally uploaded by jwordsmith.

For those non-Brits out there, this is one of the arch-baddies from Dr Wh, a recently-revived series from the BBC.

I started out to see if I could design a decent Jack Sparrow pirate but suddenly realised the face shape would lend itself very nicely to a the Cyberman.

I have an urge to design lots of cool boy clothes, since most knitting books (and clothes shops) are full of girl:boy clothes in the ratio 4:1 or thereabouts. And the boy stuff mostly consists of sporty-themed clothes or machine-themed clothes. My boys DO like their monster trucks but I want something a little different.

The Cyberman is part one of my plan.

I now have Berroco Metallic FX and Berroco Bling coming from Webs to see what I can do with that (for those not in the know, a Cyberman should be silver).