Intrepid Knitting on the High Seas, or, Pointy Things and Tangly Stuff

A wrap-around baby sweater in tonal aquas and blues, with two bright yellow crocheted buttons.

machine knitting / things for babies

In Which the Pirate Knits a Tiny Sweater.

I actually knit this sweater early last year, but the baby only just made an appearance a couple of weeks ago, so it’s been a secret ’til now… The pattern is the Lilly Sweater, which seemed like a good way to use a skein of cotton-blend sock yarn and practice machine knitting all at once. I used Plymouth Sockotta, which I used to knit...

A ball of Lang Super Soxx yarn in a rainbow of neon stripes, next to a partially-knit sock and the label from the yarn.

sock

In Which the Pirate Knits Fancy Plain Socks, Again.

I bought this yarn with the intention of waiting to cast on until my team’s stupid offsite in February, and then I realized that I had nothing to knit in the car to and from Connecticut for Christmas. So here goes – another pair of plain stockinette socks, and I’m already up to the point where I’ll start the heel flap. Car rides are...

Across the top of the picture, four braids of merino fibre in a gradient of colours from a medium pinks/purples to a darker blues/purples. Along the bottom, a coordinating solid in pale pink.

meta-knitting / tally

In Which the Pirate Tallies Up 2022.

Happy happy new year! As usual, this tally is more for myself than anything else, but you may find it interesting as well. If you’re coming from FB/Twitter/other social media, click through to see the full post: INCOMING YARN: 3492 yards I was very good about not buying yarn and then a friend announced that she was expecting, so I had to buy this...

Three handmade zipper pouches in a variety of pretty fabric patterns and colours, zipped shut.

sewing

In Which the Pirate Sews.

I know the basics of sewing (okay, maybe I know a few of the intermediates – I’m a terrible judge of my own skills) but I’ve always wanted to get better. So when YouTube “helpfully” started providing me with videos of people sewing zipper pouches like it was the easiest thing in the world, I got it in my head that I wanted to...

A collection of 20 mini-skeins of yarn in multiple colours, heavy on the blues/greens/purples range, with a few pinks and one soft yellow.

stash

In Which the Pirate Acquires Mini-Skeins.

Mom’s knitting group is doing a skein swap, and I contributed a soft skein of merino singles that I’ve had in my stash forever. Perhaps we all go through that singles phase, I don’t know – but I do know that I didn’t really want this yarn anymore, and I’m happy for it to go to a new home. And “hooray,” I thought, “that’s...

A brioche baby blanket in gradient stripes of greens, pinks, blues and purples, next to the two remaining balls of yarn for the project.

blanket / gifts / things for babies

In Which the Pirate Stripes a Blanket.

The brioche blanket continues… I’m just over the halfway point (where the colourways crossed, in the dark blue section). The colours are even more vibrant in person, and I am really enjoying knitting this. It’s been a perfect project for knit nights and football games, because it doesn’t take much attention. Except for the brief moment where both strands of yarn were the same...

Two gloves sit on a wooden table with a tiny ball of leftover yarn between them. The gloves are handknit in a lightweight grayish-green yarn. They have partial fingers for the thumb, index, and middle fingers. The ringfinger and pinkie are fully covered.

fleeps / hands

In Which the Pirate Makes Warmer Fleeps.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, more than once, but I love my Fleeps. I love them. One of the best parts of the weather turning colder is that first time I put on my warm coat and find the Fleeps in my pockets. Buuuuut… they’re not warm enough for the depths of winter. So I decided to knit a warmer pair: a double-layered...

A brioche knitting project in progress. On one side, it is ribbed in pink with green and blue in the background. On the other, it is green and blue ribs with pink in the background. The balls of yarn, showing the gradient from green to blue to purple to pink, are lined up on the table.

brioche / gifts / things for babies

In Which the Pirate Works on a Blanket.

A friend announced that she was expecting, and my first thought was that I should knit a blanket – because even though I’d long sworn off any obligation to knit for babies, that was before I had a knitting machine, right? I could crank out a blanket so fast, I told myself. It’ll be like nothing, I said. No problem at all, I said....

Many skeins of fingering weight yarn, split into two sets. Each set is enough to knit a sweater. Both sets fade from darker to lighter. The first set goes from dark greens and blues and a few pops of oranges and yellows here and there, to a pale green. The second set runs from a dark purple to a lighter purple-pink with hints of orange to a lighter pink.

festivals / meta-knitting / stash

In Which the Pirate Buys a Lot of Yarn.

It’s been some years since I’ve gotten to go to a yarn festival. Mom and I were rained out of MD Sheep and Wool this year, and couldn’t get up to Rhinebeck in October, but this past weekend we went (along with friends Monica and Jen) to the smaller, less frantically crowded, Maryland Alpaca and Fleece festival. The night before we went, Mom and...

A pair of handknit socks. A blue streak spirals down the gray legs and feet. The cuffs, toes, and heels are a dark navy blue.

sock / sweet tomato heel

In Which the Pirate Finishes New Socks.

After I finished the rainbow socks, this skein of Cascade Heritage Paints in the “Thunder” colourway was the next sockweight yarn in my stash that was meant for mindless stockinette during knit nights and football games. It seemed fitting to knit Thunder socks right next to Rainbow socks, so here we are :) I used Cat Bordhi’s Sweet Tomato Heel for these – I...