Bonsai Tunic and Baby Sock Pattern

Here's the finished back on my Bonsai Tunic from Interweave Knits Spring 2007 magazine. I love the pattern, but the yarn is a bit of a pain ... keeps splitting ... which means I really have to watch what I'm doing (and not watch TV simultaneously)! I didn't use the recommended bamboo yarn, as I had this in my stash (Mark & Kattens ? from France) .

BTW ... I'm signing myself up for the intro to digital photography course at work, so my photos should improve immensely in the near future (much to your relief, I'm sure).






For those of you who have been asking me for the baby sock pattern, here it is:

Materials:

5 double-pointed needles, size 3mm
1 ball of Cascade Fixation or Elann Espirit yarn

Abbreviations:

SSK = slip, slip knit
tog = together
sl = slip

Method:

Cast on 36 stitches and divide evenly over 4 needles (eg. 9 stitches on each needle). Make sure you don't twist your stitches in the process!
Knit 1, purl 1 around in rib for 3 inches. Then do 4 rounds of knit only.

Divide for heel:

You'll only need 4 needles for this part, so put the empty one down. Using the last needle that you completed your 4 rounds of knit on, knit 9 stitches across the first needle and turn. You will now have 18 stitches on one needle and 2 'holding needles' with 9 stitches each. We're going to ignore the holding needles for now. Slip 1 and purl 17 stitches. Now you're back to the 'right' side.

Row 1 - Sl 1, knit to end of row and turn
Row 2 - Sl 1, purl to end of row and turn

Repeat these two rows until work from end of ribbing measures 1 1/4", ending with a purl row.

Turning the heel:

Row 1 - knit 13, SSK, turn
Row 2 - Sl1, purl 8, purl 2 tog, turn
Row 3 - Sl1, knit 8, SSK, turn
Row 4 - Sl1, purl 8, purl 2 tog, turn

Continue as above until all side stitches have been worked, ending with a wrong side row. You should have 10 stitches total. Knit 5 stitches to the middle of the right side row.

Heel Gusset:

Using a new needle, knit the next 5 stitches and pick up and knit 7 stitches along the right side of the heel. Knit across the instep stitches, keeping them on the 2 needles (remember, these were our previous 'holding needles'). Using your 5th needle, pick up and knit 7 stitches along the left side of the heel and then knit across the remaining 5 stitches.

You will now have a total of 42 stitches, divided in this manner:

The 1st and 4th needles will have 12 stitches each and the 2nd and 3rd needles will have 9 stitches each.

1st round: Knit to last 3 stitches on 1st needle, knit 2 tog, knit 1. Knit across 2nd and 3rd needles. At the beginning of the 4th needle, knit 1, SSK, knit to end of round.

2nd round: Knit the next row.

Repeat these two rounds until a total of 36 stitches remain. Then, just plain knit until the foot measures 1 1/4" from the beginning of the heel gusset.

Shape Toe:

Row 1: Knit to last 3 stitches on 1st needle. Knit 2 tog, knit 1. At the beginning of the 2nd needle, knit 1, SSK, and knit to end of needle. Knit to the last 3 stitches on 3rd needle, knit 2 tog, knit 1. At beginning of 4th needle, knit 1, SSK, knit to end of round.
Row 2: Knit

Repeat these last 2 rows until 20 stitches remain, and then repeat Row 1 only until 8 stitches remain. Leaving an 8" tail, cut yarn. Using a blunt needle, thread the yarn tail back through the remaining stitches, pull snugly, tie off and weave in any loose ends on the inside.

You should have enough yarn left to make a matching baby hat!



Well, it's been quite a week. Working has created some new challenges, health-wise, in my life. Although I absolutely love working at PE, the stress of hustling on my feet, 8 hours per day, has taken a toll on my health. My heart is not very happy about all the stress and activity. I've had to increase the dosage of the beta blocker to alleviate the angina and also emailed my boss to let her know that I need to either go down to no more than 4 hours/shift, or she needs to find someone else, if that doesn't work for her. I was very sad to have to send that missive off, let me tell you! I truly thought I was almost back to normal, but really, who stands on their feet for 8 hours a day normally? How could I possible have known? She was very gracious and said she wants to keep me on and would try to work around it, which they did.

It looks like I'll be working Mon/Thur/Fri -- 4 hours each day. This is ideal, as it gives me 2 days off at the beginning of the week and then another 2 at the end, to rest. I'm really hoping this does the trick, as I'm just not good at sitting at home all day, plus, I love what I'm doing! It's always somewhat amusing when I have to let someone know that I've had a heart attack in the past year and they look at me, shocked and wonder 'at your age'????? Then I explain how the radiation treatment I had 18 years ago for Hodgkin's disease, damaged/scarred the lining of my arteries. It can be overwhelming.