I've made a bunch of blocks, some for the quilt I described earlier and others for swaps. Many are simply "practice" blocks. I have to admit that this isn't coming easy to me - I have to work at every seam, rip out constantly, measure and re-measure, correct, try again. Many blocks are too small, unsalvageable. But I also feel that I'm learning and getting better, able to attempt more and more complicated piecing every time. And that's what it's all about, right?
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It is perfect.
I surfed the web time and time again, touched every yarn at the yarn shop, but kept coming back to Weekend. Something about its squishy, beady texture, its incredible yardage and reasonable price tag, its true worsted-weight thickness (I don't want to be knitting crocheting this blanket forever!) kept luring me back. I'm using a Brittany Birch crochet hook (size H-8, 5 mm) and I have yet to split the yarn even once :). I'm getting 6 squares out of every skein of yarn, and I'm exercising a lot of restraint to not go totally nuts and crochet all 15 skeins before I even leave for vacation.
Pattern: Miralda's Triangular Shawl from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia
Yarn: Ball and Skein Sophia, 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon, 450 yards per 160 gram skein. The shawl used up about 560 yards/200 grams of yarn. I alternated the two skeins in large chunks, switching between the big elements.
Needles: US 6 INOX Express circs.
Finished size: 52" across the top, and 26" deep. I think this is one of the smaller shawls I've knitted, but it should work very well for wearing under a winter coat.
So. I still haven't decided what to do with this shawl. It's definitely not my color. It's not exactly my grandma's color, either - she's more of a "sage green" woman. Maybe my mom? I think I will put it away for now; the right person or occasion will come along eventually ;). Until it comes out again, let's enjoy the gorgeous texture!
Currently playing with the following, trying to start several travel-friendly projects in time for my vacation:
Orange: Araucania Yarns Lonco, fingering weight 100% mercerized cotton, 440 yards per 100 gram skein. I got 2 solid-colored skeins of color #3003, tangerine at ImagiKnit during my trip to San Francisco last summer. I recently noticed elann has this very yarn and colorway on sale, at a very nice price. Currently auditioning: Cosmicpluto Laura's Massey Wrap using US 5 needles.
Teal: Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima, sportweight 100% pima cotton, 220 yards per 100 gram skein. I got 3 skeins of colorway #3734 at Windsor Button. Currently auditioning: #27 from the Handmade Crochet Book (the same book I used for my potholders). This scarf is the reason I bought the book in the first place - I really loved the scarf Alicia Paulson crocheted.
Yellow: Berroco Weekend, worsted weight acrylic/cotton blend, 205 yards per 100 gram skein. I got 15 skeins of colorway #5921, banana, at WEBS: you can't beat their discount on large purchases ;). Currently auditioning: the Sunny Spread blanket. I'm still searching for just the right crochet hook for this project: I think I need one with a very deep hook, if that makes sense, to securely grab all the plies of this worsted weight yarn!
What are you working on this weekend?
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Sara chose a digital scale just like the one pictured! I bought it here, but because eBay listings expire, you can always find something similar by searching digital scale "500 x 0.1"
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Angie from California and Angie from Vancouver both chose 60 Quick Knits
Brenda and Samina both chose Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock from the Birds N Yarn shop. Samina went with the Cedar colorway, and Brenda, the Baltic Sea colorway.
Side note: Did you know that the very first time I used Lorna's Laces, it was the Baltic Sea colorway? It's true! I knit these socks for my grandma. I bought the yarn off of eBay without knowing anything about it. I was hooked, and it's still my favorite, all these years later!
Congratulations again to Sara, the two Angies, Brenda and Samina! I hope you enjoy your prizes!
In other housekeeping news, this blog will stay a bit on the quiet side during the month of August. I have a bunch of projects I need to wrap up during the next few weeks, and then Mr. Sweetness and I are off on a vacation! But don't you worry: I'll have plenty of knitting time during the trip, and I've already started planning my vacation projects! If previous experience is any indication, I'll be back with a knitted blanket or two :).
Once I'm back, join me at Windsor Button on Saturday, September 11th, for the launch of Julie Turjoman's new book, Brave New Knits
The yarn is Nichole by the Schaefer Yarn Company, 80% extrafine superwash merino wool, 20% nylon. Long time readers know that I've had mixed success with using Schaefer yarns in the past, but Nichole is a winner!
First, I was completely drawn to the color, Vanessa Bell, because it's perfect for my grandma. Second, the yarn has this wonderful thickness, like a very plump and firm fingering weight, but not quite sportweight. Using 2.5 mm INOX dpns (that's like a US size 1.5), I got a gauge of 7.5 stitches and 10 rounds per inch. The socks feel like they're made for puttering around the house in the winter - thick and sturdy.
Considering the thickness, the skein put-up (405 yards in each 5 oz. skein) is actually very generous - I had a ton left over after knitting this pair! And even though it took me several months to finish the socks, the actual knitting went very, very quickly - I just dragged it out because I was distracted by many other projects :).
I originally wanted to knit this yarn into a slightly more complicated sock pattern, but the color variegation demanded a very simple stockinette sock. No problem! A little ribbing, a few decreases, and then knit a tube over 56 stitches.
It's so funny that when I write an official sock pattern, it's never less than 3 pages long, but when I'm jotting down notes for myself, a few words and numbers scribbled on a postal office receipt is all I need ;).
]]> and decided it was time to select my second nupp-tastic victim.
This is Miralda's Triangular Shawl. The interesting textural stitches drew me right in.
I also really liked the delicate frilly edge, though I have to think carefully about the very best way to block, so as to retain the frilliness.
No part of the shawl would be noteworthy without mentioning the amazing yarn: Ball and Skein Sophia, 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon, 450 yards per 160 gram skein. I think Sophia uses the same base yarn as Spirit Trail Fiberworks Paivatar, which I used to knit my mom's Toe The Line shawl: they feel very similar to me.
I picked up 2 skeins of Sophia in the Loree colorway at this year's Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair. I noticed that the 2 skeins are ever-so-slightly different in color. Instead of alternating them every 2 rows, I decided to knit chunks/stripes of the shawl pattern using one skein, then the other.
But wait a minute, where are the nupps? I ended up omitting the entire nupp section! I found myself really bothered by the way it was centered (or not centered) relative to the point of the shawl. I also felt zero motivation to re-chart and figure out a better way to include that section ;).
So, out it went! Instead I'm alternating the textural motifs, with the full knowledge that another opportunity to play with nupps will come my way sooner or later anyway :).
]]>So, guess what?!? I made yarn!
Stacie showed me the ropes, with some helpful guidance from Maryse, too! Two lessons later, I think I'm finally getting the gist of it - what goes where, how to make yarn thicker or thinner, tighter spun or looser, etc.
But I have to say, spinning... good spinning... is an art, and I have no misconceptions about that. It will take a lot of practice and a lot of duds to make yarn as pretty as what I currently have in the stash, or as pretty as anything Stacie cranks out. Every time I see one of those beauties, I wonder, "Why spin when I can buy it all spun up and gorgeous already?" I've been using that as an excuse to avoid spinning for 6 years now ;). The issue, and I'm sure you've all seen me battle with this time and time again, is that the common put-up of a handspun skein of yarn is approximately 100 grams, which is not enough for much.
Anyway, for my first "skein," and I use that term loosely, I used Corriedale pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms. This was great to use for a beginner like myself because there was minimal fiber prep. I used Stacie's Majacraft Rose and made 2-ply yarn! It's bulky-ish, largely under-spun and under-plied (shocking, I know!), but with promising bits throughout.
Before cranking out that skein on the Rose, I tried spinning on the Ashford Traditional wheel (I think the double drive version), and the Louet S10 DT. The Louet was excellent, the Ashford... less so. I guess there's a reason we are advised to try out a wheel before buying - each one is different! I'm nowhere near ready to buy a wheel, but I will be taking that advice seriously if and when I am.
Lastly, in the spirit of spinning, I wanted to mention the 4! Ounce! Challenge! that Stacie is currently hosting. Spin yarn and have the opportunity to win awesome prizes?!? That sounds like a win! Maybe next year I'll have my own wheel and be good enough to participate!
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I recently picked up the Botany Quilt Kit by Lauren & Jessi Jung for Moda Fabrics from Hancock's of Paducah, and I'm so excited about it! This is a very special purchase for me, a point of starting over, and the (entire, wordy) background story is in the extended entry. But up here, just the pretty pictures and the squeeee!
The kit comes with 2 jelly rolls. This is new to me since I've never purchased jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm packs, or any other pre-cut fabric packs before.
They are so cute! I bet I won't feel that way once I unwrap the roll and have a gazillion strips of fabric all over everything.
There are also some bigger pieces of fabric for "fussy cutting" (a technical term) the centers of the blocks. But I don't think I'll use those flowers for the centers of my blocks: I think I'll like the blocks better if the centers are a smaller print. So, I'll fussy cut around the flowers instead!
And the whole kit came in this (collapsible!) canvas basket, complete with care labels that you can sew onto the completed quilt.
The bottom one says, "Made by hand, stitched with love." The top one says, "Wash me with mild detergent and don't agitate me. Air dry." Hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about the air dry bit.
The only downer about this kit is that I think I'm going to have to change the assembly from what's given in the pattern. As written, the directions have you piece the outer bits of each square first (with diagonal seams), and then set in the center square. This seems excessive considering you can achieve practically the same look with a basic half a log-cabin square (or whatever it's called). Right?!? I'm a little bummed about that considering I was specifically looking for a quilt kit with precise instructions to follow (more about that in the extended entry), but I hope I can manage on my own ;).
Well, there's one other thing that's making me supremely upset: although I got this kit several weeks ago, and have been feeling very enthusiastic about giving it a try, the weather has not been on my side. My sewing machine is in an area of the apartment that's not air-conditioned, and we have had unbearable heat for weeks now. Just the thought of using a hot iron to press all those seams makes me cringe! Yuck! I'm hoping the heat subsides some time soon, so I can get moving on this quilt!
]]>I think on only one previous occasion I had an FO post, and then a follow-up post featuring that same FO, modified: when I finished the Brilliant Retro, scorched zipper and all, and then later replaced the zipper with one that matched better (and wasn't fried!).
Well, here we go again!
Look, I even wore the same outfit for you guys! And considering it was something like 98 degrees on the day this photo was taken (my shiny face confirms the temperature), I think that alone qualifies me for sainthood :).
To recap, the vest ended up being too long for my mom in its original form, so I made a plan of alterations, dissembled, removed close to 6" in length without frogging the whole thing, and stitched the vest back together. And here it is!
I also made the armhole bands a little narrower, and added a few decreases so they don't stick out like epaulets :).
Compared to the dimensions I measured immediately after finishing, I can see that the vest grew in length (and shrunk in width) during the few months that my mom had it. No wonder it became just too long for her to wear comfortably! Here are the new measurements:
Widths: about 47" across the bust, 45" at the waist, 46" at the hips. Remember, I didn't alter the width at all! But all those numbers are 2-4" smaller than the freshly-finished version! Length: 15.5" from armpit to hem, and another 8.5" armpit to shoulder (25.75" total, a reduction of 5.25" off the original finished length).
The vest sits much better on me than the original version, and I hope that's the case for my mom, too (she and I are about the same height).
]]>And many more!
Time sure flies - it was about 6 years ago that I learned how to knit, but it seems like it was only yesterday! My knitting has changed so much since then. In some ways, I've gone back to basics, embracing the pure joy of knitting oodles and oodles of garter stitch and stockinette. In other ways, I continue to challenge myself, mainly by pushing the boundaries of finishing techniques.
But just as six years ago, knitting continues to be "my thing." I know how to sew and crochet, and I even fiddle with stencils and photography and jewelry-making on occasion (and lately, spinning!), but nothing holds my interest as knitting does. This brings me to the point of this post, and to the knitaversary giveaway that I'll be holding for the second year in a row!
For many years I had a 100 things about me page. I took it down a few months ago because my interests and attitudes had evolved, and the information was totally outdated. But I haven't gotten around to updating the page!
And now I'm asking for your help! Help me fill the page! What better time than one's knitaversary to reflect and update the info?!? I'm not aiming to create another list of 100 facts, but more of a Frequently Asked Questions list. Submit a question (or two, or three...) that you would like me to answer on the FAQ page, and you could win a prize!
The rules are simple:
Comments have now been closed.
Side note: Keep in mind all the different visitors who make their way here - feel free to ask those questions to which you already know the answers if the information would be useful to a first-time visitor.
So, what are the five prizes?!? I thought of some new books which left a lasting impression, as well as old standbys that are always a hit, and came up with the following:
. A lovely compilation, which I reviewed here.
, a stunning new look at the architecture of knitting, which I reviewed here.
. I had to throw in something baby-knitting related, of course! In addition to containing absolutely adorable patterns (my book review here), this book is a treasure trove of sizing information, and I used it as a reference for literally every single baby knit I completed this year!
Each winner will have his or her pick from this line-up: if all five winners want a digital scale, I will arrange that ;). The items aren't coming from my stash or library (God forbid! No one touches my library!), so I'm very flexible.
So, good luck and thank you for helping me fill up my new FAQ page! I look forward to your questions!
P.S. You know, this is a little bit unfair: you get to do all the fun stuff - ask questions and win prizes - while I'll be left putting all the information together into something cohesive, heh :).
Comments have now been closed. Thank you so much for your questions! The most frequently asked ones are now in the updated FAQ! Winners of the contest will be contacted via e-mail.
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There's just one more, the 19th, that I have to share with you, which is for Stephanie's little walnut, due to arrive in a few weeks. After that, I intend to re-train all employees of GFOAB (the Grumpy Factory for Outfitting Army of Babies) to knit grown-up things. Because, frankly, I think we've forgotten how to do that ;).
Pattern: No pattern, but I knit this sweater to Budgie dimensions, omitting the stripes, the zipper, and the contrasting cast-on.
Yarn: Hand-dyed and handspun superwash merino in the Retro Kitchen colorway from Missy, A Tree Hugger's Wife on Etsy. The sweater used up about 250 yards of yarn. This was a custom order that I told you about a little while back. I loved working with this squishy, soft yarn, and I love how it knit up into these beautiful wide stripes! The contrast yarn is Berroco Vintage, acrylic/wool/nylon blend, in Sakura (5166). I thought these two made a good combination because they are both machine-washable.
Needles and gauge: using size US 6 circs this yarn knit to about 5 stitches and 8 rows per inch after blocking.
Finished dimensions: about 20" chest circumference, 9.75" from hem to shoulder, 7" from cuff to armpit. This should fit up to about 3 months, just in time for little walnut to wear in the fall.
The buttons are another perfect match from Windsor Button. I know they look white/clear here, but they are actually a very subtle blue when not attached to the sweater!
For gifts, I always attach a care tag and an extra button. I make these tags in Illustrator (you can use any text + picture software, like Microsoft Word or Paint) and print them on heavy-weight matte photo paper. The little sheep I drew in Illustrator eons ago based on some picture, I didn't get the actual drawing from anywhere.
And that's that! That's the end of baby knits for now. Get ready for some socks, a shawl, a fixed-up vest, and a knitaversary contest!
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If the silhouette of this... baby casing (hee!) looks familiar, it's because you've seen it before! It's basically the wee-est vest, except out of handspun and without colorwork. So cute!
Pattern: based on the Archie Vest from Kristen Rengren's Vintage Baby Knits
Yarn: handspun superwash Bluefaced Leicester wool, approximately 210 yards. The fiber was dyed by Amy at Spunky Eclectic, and spun by my talented friend Stacie (see more handspun goodies in her Etsy shop). The colorway is called "Duck." The contrast yarn is Malabrigo Sock, 100% superwash merino in Cordovan (810), held double.
The Bluefaced Leicester is a beautiful, strong wool, but I'm not sure it's next-to-the-skin soft for a baby. So it's an added bonus that the contrasting Malabrigo Sock yarn, which is so soft and delicate, covers all the skin-touching edges.
Needles and gauge: using size US 5 circs this yarn knit to about 5.5 stitches and 8.5 rounds per inch after blocking.
Finished dimensions: 22" chest circumference, 12.5" from shoulder to hem. This is actually not so wee: should fit a 12-month-old baby, I think.
As before, I knit the vest in the round until the armholes. And let me tell you, there's nothing more pleasurable in this whole wide world than knitting handspun yarn, in utterly simplistic stockinette, on a circular needle, in the round. JOY is the only appropriate descriptor.
Once again I added a button band along one of the shoulder seams to allow more room for the head. The light-light yellow/green buttons are from Windsor Button, of course. Now that I've completed two of these vests, I think I've also decided that the neck hole opening can be placed lower, so I'll be sure to incorporate that in the future.
I was really happy to be able to incorporate some of the bright yellow bits of this yarn into the vest, albeit into the back ;).
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Olga Buraya-Kefelian (forever in my mind as Olga Jazzy) and Vanessa Yap-Einbund (forever in my mind as Coloursknits) accomplished something truly remarkable in publishing their first book, Ori Ami Knits: it is from A to Z theirs.
It's clear that Ori Ami Knits is the brain child of these two talented ladies, but does it offer something for the rest of us? Yes, I think so! The garments are both interesting and wearable, which I think is the best possible combination. They are all perfectly balanced: modern, clean lines with some unique touches that can be seen and admired without shouting, if you know what I mean. From a technical standpoint, the book features an excellent range of sizes, clear charts and size schematics, and flattering silhouettes (though for my figure I know I'd be incorporating waist shaping into many of the tops).
The accessories featured in the book might be my favorite of all, especially the Japonica Cravat. I love that it's somewhere between a necklace and a scarf, that it would be pretty quick to knit up, and that the yarn is available and not terribly expensive. Ideas, ideas...
]]>First, there was a lot of avoidance. Of course! I'm not generally a procrastinator, but steps 3 and 4 are exactly the sort of thing you can't do after a long day at work, or while watching TV, so they had to wait for the "right moment." Aaand they waited a baby vest and a baby sweater's worth of time :). Then this weekend I felt a pang of motivation, and followed it through.
The end result: it's done. The three vest pieces are now each 5.75" shorter, hem to shoulder, and you can't tell that anything happened. Whoa.
Some progress pics and descriptions in the extended entry. It was not easy, but it was easier than either re-knitting the whole thing from scratch, or frogging past the armholes and re-knitting from there. Trust me when I say this: cutting a piece of fabric to either shorten or extend is a totally workable solution. Do not discount it. It's not easy, but it's easier and faster than the alternatives. I promise. I'm not magic (only persistent and careful), and if I can do it, so can you!
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