I asked the Knitlist for opinions on Michelle’s request for “butt warmers.” I had thought I’d use the Barbara Walker Knitting from the Top book (I still think I probably will) for the pattern/formula, but didn’t know what yarn and how much yarn to get.

Michelle wants to be able to machine wash these, she wants them to be warm, and she wants to keep the costs down if possible. However, since she will wear these a lot and surely wear them out no matter what they are made of, we need them to be durable.

I thought an acrylic/wool blend would be good, and she lives near a Michaels store where she could get some WoolEase so I thought that was the first possible solution. However, the input I’m getting from the Knitlist is that for the type of hard wear these will get, they would probably pill and maybe wear out too soon if made in WoolEase worsted (which is a light worsted).

I may try Plymouth Encore, which I have used and like just fine at a tight sock gauge. Either I’ll do that, or I will look for some sort of worsted superwash that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Often I go to Brown Sheep yarns for affordability, but I don’t like their superwash very much. I’m sure something will come up that will work. We are not on a deadline, this is just a cool idea.

Someone sent me a note that the Rebecca knitting magazine website (this is a european magazine aimed at young knitters) has some free patterns on it. Did you know that? I somehow was surprised. Anyway, they have a pattern for a “bikini” free in PDF format. (See picture above.)

It is not skimpy as I would expect, it sort of has hot pants instead of bikini bottoms, and the top is more like a halter top one could wear with a flowy broomstick skirt in the summer, quite cool. The model is far too anorexic for my taste (am I the only one worrying that we are going to lose a generation of young women to this devastating ideal of skin and bones?) but the two-pieced suit looks wearable for not just a model. I may try that top for the summer, myself (and I am 44, not at all in the target audience). The hot pants I would rather knit-to-fit, but the pattern may help me figure out how much yarn I will be needing.

I found a men’s sweater in a two-color slip stitch pattern that I really liked on the Rebecca site, as well. (I wear a lot of men’s sweaters myself, I like the “flashdance” look of huge top/leggings.) You might want to check it out.

In socknitting news, I am working my way on both the purple alpaca and the turquoise Opal sox. I still don’t know what I will do with the found sox of yesterday so I’m letting them sit in a corner of my workspace until they tell me what they want to be. I’m leaning toward giving them away but I’m not convinced yet. It seems most of the sox I’ve done for myself are handwash yarns and it would be great to have a few more machine wash goodies for myself between handwash days. (The picture is a swatch I did in the round, from the Opal yarn. I wear it as a wristwarmer now.)

I haven’t touched my knit rug in days, nor have I done any spinning. I keep thinking I will start on the sleeves to my sweater, and I desperately need a chunk of time to get into the dyeing studio. There are all these white yarns begging for my attention, and a bunch of folks on my emailing list, wishing to see what I am going to sell.

However, I have a lot of computer work to do these days for three different clients, distracting me from the yarn-coloring. That means when I’m home, I often am doing my geeky work instead of knitting or dyeing. I am working with my brother, Eric, on one MS Access project. We solved a problem today that has been an issue for two years! We are very excited about that.

Thank goodness for sox, which can be knit in bits and pieces everywhere but home! If it weren’t for them, I might never finish anything!