long time no knit

i have been a busy girl, but even though i have been busy, i have had my trusty knitting with me for those spare moments when i can sneak some rows. here are the things i finished in the last two weeks while teching and dress rehearsing my latest show.

first up....

Bambina
designed by the fine folks at Colinette.
pattern free with yarn purchase.

knit in Colinette Tagliatelli (remenants from 3 skeins #139 "Neptune", #48 "Florentina", and #100 "Gauguin" 90% merino wool, 10% nylon) from my stash on size US 10.5 crystal palace bamboo needles.

started: november 30, 2007
finished: december 6, 2007

this was a fun little baby sweater that knit up in no time at all. i finished it in 2 or 3 days and was lazy about sewing up the seams until thursday. i was dreading it because i was worried the yarn would not mattress stitch well, but once i started, i disciovered that this is an incredibly forgiving yarn to seam. it turned out very well.

to answer the most frequent question on everyone's lips.... there is no intended recipient. yet. i just knit it to knit it. that is the thing with baby items. you can knit them and they won't go out of style and they fit as long as you give them at the right time.

i also don't know if i have friends who are funky enough for this yarn that intend to have a baby any time soon. handpainted merino ribbon yarn is pretty... out there.

there is still some yarn left, and i plan to knit a little hat to go with the sweater. nice not to have a deadline!

second project is a beret that i have been eyeing since the fall issue of knitty.com came out.

Urchin
by Ysolda Teague
published on knitty.com

size large knit in Colinette Zanziba (1 skein #72 "Tapis" 51% wool, 48% viscose, 1% nylon) purchased at K+S=B on size US 10.5 crystal palace bamboo needles.

started: december 7, 2007
finished: december 8, 2007

i wanted to knit this since i saw it, but i wasn't sold until i found the right yarn. i really love the grey and pinks of this hand painted blend, and when we put it on sale at work, i couldn't say 'no'.

the viscose gives the yarn a slight sheen, and after i blocked it, it became nice and drapey. i was a little worried about this when i finished.

i knit the size large because i wanted the top to be fuller, not really because my head is all that large. i just knew from looking at the pictures of other versions on ravelry that i didn't want the top of the hat too look anemic. it needed to really look like a beret to work.

when i finished it was a little stiff and springy at the same time... and not very beret-like on my head. i crossed my fingers and wet blocked the hat over a dinner plate. ta-da! it really seemed to work.

i like it. i'm sure you'll get a long haul report in the spring. we'll see how it holds up.

finally we have a new pasha the penguin. he is 99% finished. i just can't find my buttons for the eyes. i put them away in the spring, and i did a great job at that. yes. i put them away so well that i can't find them again.

i'll pick some up tomorrow when i am out and about for work.

ps- show is open. go see Antigone. great cast! i am especially fond of Antigone herself.
pps- my peguin is in line with the story of antigone's family. he doesn't have eyes! wheeee!