UFO Sighting! (Unheard of Finished Object)

Never mind it is the size of my thumb, it is finished.

Last night I went to hear the Yarn Harlot speak. I am thrilled she finally made it down here and hope she can come again! It was an intimate crowd, but it was definitely a very happy bunch. I cast on for the preemie socks above right before I left the house and had finished until I had to graft the toes (did that as soon as I got home) when she was done. That's how long it takes to knit a pair of preemie socks for those of you wondering. I did short row heels so I could actually pay attention to Stephanie speak. I am all for heel flaps, but since she came all this way I really didn't want to be thinking about my knitting, I just wanted to knit. (I love that I got to go hear someone speak about the charms of yarn and knitters while knitting. That should happen more often.)

Christina came and brought me some completely adorable preemie hats for the growing collection, the picture taken here at 5:30 AM on the red pillow does them no justice, but they are cute as can be and thanks for knitting them up!



If you'd like to try your hand at the tiny preemie socks, here's what I did:

~Sirdar Snuggly DK baby yarn color 0223, size 2US needles (gauge? I didn't check, but I knit fairly tight and it really doesn't matter for preemie stuff, it'll fit one of them)
~Cast on 24 stitches, using backwards 'e', so it is very loose for the babies, I divided them on to two circular needles so I was doing the same thing, you could do them on dpn's, but it's so few stitches on each needle you might be spending more time moving from needle to needle than actually kniting
~Knit in 2x2 ribbing for about an inch and a quarter
~Short row heel- knit across 11 sts, turn, purl across 10 sts, turn, knit across 9 sts, turn purl across 8 sts, turn knit across 7 sts, turn purl across 6 sts, turn, knit across until you reach the gap, pick up a stitch between the gap and k2tog, turn, purl across until, pick up a stitch between the gap and p2tog, repeat until you have worked your way back to the sock.
~on the top of the sock continue in 2x2 ribbing, knit in stockinette on the bottom of the sock.
~when the sock is about as long as your thumb, begin toe decreases every other row as you would with any other sock, knit 1, ssk, knit across the top until 3 sts left, k2tog, k1, repeat on the bottom, knitting an even row between decreases until 6 sts left on toe, graft with kitchener stitch.

For the record, these would have been a bit big on PeeWee, but feet grow quickly!

These socks are not nearly as tiny as Rhonda's mini earring socks, but they are good to fit a preemie. This pattern knit on larger needles would be the perfet size for a newborn, the ribbing gives them nice stretch over baby feet. And a matching hat would be a super quick knit to make an adorable set if you have procrastinated until the last minute of labor for coming up with a baby gift.

Remember to check out the contest if you're interested in winning some lucious yarn.