You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘knitting’ category.
Things I learned during this FO photo shoot:
1. Virginia Beach in August is HOT.
2. It is very difficult to photograph your own legs by yourself.
3. Aforementioned VB heat + acrylic/wool legwarmers = DEAR JESUS, MELTING.
Possibly I already knew those things already. Anyway.
Pattern: Sausalito Stirrup Socks from Lion Brand, sort of, not really.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, two(ish) skeins in Wood Print.
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: I mostly just used the CO number then did calf increases where necessary/I felt like it.
Aside from the fact that it’s fucking HOT and wearing these outside was kind of miserable, I really like how they came out. I used up some stash, I’ll have warm socks come winter, and they’re pretty cute. They’re a little loose at the top, so I’ll have to wear a garter belt or some garters or something, but provided I can get them to stay up, I suspect they’ll get a lot of wear come cooler weather.
Also: Sock Jag? Still happening.
In such little time I didn’t even tell you I was working on it, I released a new pattern!
Betta Fish Amigurumi
US $3.00
These cute little ami Bettas are perfect for last minute gifts for any Betta lover (or playful kitty). They work up fast (about 45 minutes) with only about 30 yards of yarn. Add a little stuffing and a little puff paint or embroidery for eyes and you’ve got a cute little fishie you don’t have to remember to feed.
Materials:
– Set of 5 US 5/3.75 mm dpns
– US 6/4 mm straight needles
Yarn: 30 yards worsted weight/10ply yarn
Gauge: Not especially important
Finished measurements: Finished toy measures approx. 6”x5”
The pattern for this little fishie is available in my Ravelry store for $3. BUT if you buy any other pattern in my store this week, you’ll get the Betta Fish pattern for free! You don’t even need a code! Just add the patterns you want to purchase and the Betta fish pattern to your cart and the discount should be applied automatically.
So I didn’t do a lot of knitting at the beach, but I did make enough progress on my Multnomah that I finished it up on Saturday afternoon.
Pattern: Multnomah
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Silkie in Nodding Violets
Needles: US 4/3.75 mm KP options circ
Mods: Only eight feather and fan repeats cause I ran out of yarn
So this is the prettiest shawl ever and you should be jealous. Also, it was super nice to make and the pattern in really easy. Also, this yarn is fantastic–soft and shiny and silky and slinky. Delightful.
I hit the shawl with some steam to open it up a bit. I used a smaller needle that I usually would with a fingering weight shawl, so the garter stitch is squooshy and dense. LOVE. Can’t wait until it’s cooler so I can actually wear it cause I would wear it all the time. : )
It’s still hot! I’m going to the Outerbanks with my boyfriend and his family this week! So posting will be limited from tomorrow through next Saturday or Sunday (plus I don’t know how much knitting I’ll be doing on the beach). Anyway, I made this hat. Because if you suck at colorwork, you should TOTALLY ADD CABLES to the mix.
Pattern: Colorful Cables Hat, from Stitch N Bitch Superstar Knitting
Yarn: Columbia-Minerva worsted wool and some red recycled merino
Needles: US 5 KP Options circ
Mods: None. I was thisclose to cutting out a pattern repeat but the decreases are short and I didn’t have to.
So despite the difficulty that knitting this hat was (I am not very experienced with colorwork), I’m super proud of it and it looks awesome. Yay. Can’t wait for cooler weather so I can wear it and not die of heat stroke.
Here is the obligatory inside-out photo so you can see my lovely floats:
Anyway, I’m off to the beach for the week! Be good while I’m gone!
In case you’re living in some remote corner of the world and haven’t heard everyone in the US bitching about it, it has been HOT this week. I don’t actually go outside and we have air conditioning, so it figures that on the hottest days of the year, I knit knee-high wool socks and a stranded hat. Both of which I finished, but this post is about the socks, which I will love more in the winter.
Pattern: They are toe up socks. Do you need a pattern? Gusset/flap heel, wedge toe.
Yarn: Jo Ann Sensations Dolcetto, three skeins in light blue. The colorway reminds me of clouds and the sky, hence, Cloud Cover.
Needles: US 2 and 5 KP options circs
So the yarn held out long enough for these to go just over the knee, which is all kinds of awesome. They will be perfect for under skirts in the winter (not that I’ll probably be working somewhere where that sort of dress is acceptable, but there are weekends!) and they’re pretty comfortable. I can also fold down the cuffs for actual knee socks:
I don’t have especially high hopes for the longevity of the heels/toes of these socks as the yarn is a cotton/wool/nylon blend single (well, fake single; it’s like a fuzzy chained something or other) and the toes are not knitted especially tightly. I figure I won’t wear them that often and I can always darn them if they develop holes, but they should be alright for the time being. I can’t for winter to roll around again so I can wear my socks (and so this damn heat wave will end!)
Sooooo here is a finished object, the Leah vest I finished the other day.
Pattern: Leah. Still working on it.
Yarn: Feza Yarns Zarone, about 1.5 skeins.
Needles: US 6
Mods: Ugh.
So this came out too big again for some reason or other, probably gauge. Cause you know I don’t swatch, ever. I ended up sewing some darts in the side and down the back and it fits pretty well now, even if there are pretty obvious seam lines. I don’t care about the ones on the sides cause my arms are usually in the way, but the one in the back (which, no, you can’t see) could be neater.
Anyway, I managed to get a finished object I’m mostly pleased with. And slowly I’m working out the kinks in the pattern with the help of some dedicated testers. Hopefully it should be available… ever. Sometime. Eventually.
I also finished my thigh high socks (pics of those tomorrow maybe) and started a colorwork hat. With cables. Because I suck at colorwork, so OF COURSE we should add cables to the mix. Fearless knitter, that’s me.
In a fit of startitus, I cast on for All the Things. Okay, just two things I wasn’t already working on, but still.
I started some socks in KP Stroll (Well, Essential cause I’ve had it for while, but it’s the same)
It was a 100g skein I split and as you can see, the outside was a different color than the inside. Which is possibly why it was on sale when I bought it. Luckily, I don’t mind mismatched socks.
I also started a Multnomah shawl in Socks that Rock Silkie.
It’s the prettiest shawl ever, and you should be jealous.
Also, there’s these socks I’ve been working on in Jo Ann Sensations Dolcetto (which has been since discontinued)
They’re currently knee high and I have about 20g for each sock left, so I’m going to switch to ribbing and see how far I get.
I have FO shots of the most recent Leah vest and when I do that post, I will have some Things to Say because I am thisclose to scrapping the whole damn project. It turned out too big and I had to sew some darts and yeah. Anyway. Look at the socks and shawl!
Okay, yes, it’s been nothing but FO’s lately (I have a lot of time). In my defense, this one took about an hour of knitting time.
Pattern: Ruched Eye Sleep Mask
Yarn: Malabrigo in Pearl Ten, about ten grams.
Needles: US 6/4 mm
Mods: None.
A. This was super easy and quick to knit up.
B. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmalabrigo.
C. It’s very useful in blocking out light and much softer than the sewn ones I’ve made (and then lost).
In conclusion: Malabrigo is great.
Also, here’s a WIP photo for you:
It’s another version of Leah vest so I can get this damn pattern out in the world. If you’re interested in test knitting, especially larger sizes, pleeeeeease let me know.
Sooo my posts as of late have been mostly Finished Objects posts. But I have lots of time on my hands, so I do a lot of knitting. I kept meaning to write a WIP post for this sweater but then I finished other things, so I just posted about those instead. Anyway, I finished this top.
Pattern: Delphine from Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: Recycled 70/30 cotton/wool
Needles: US 4/3.75 KP options circ
Mods: Added a repeat or two to get a size between S and M, left out the split in the center front, and did the armhole picots in crochet.
So I’m pretty thrilled with this top. The fit is wonderful, it’s super cute and girly and will be perfect with skirts and over dresses. I love the ribbon and the neckline and the cap sleeves and the shaping and OH it is so cute.
The yarn I used, recycled from a short sleeved Old Navy tunic pullover, turned out to be perfect for this project. I didn’t swatch (I never do) and my gauge ended up being slightly bigger than the pattern, meaning the mods I made for fit worked out perfectly. Had I gotten gauge, it would have been a tic too small. The length is also exactly right, which is exciting since I have a long torso and most sweaters and written to be too short. But this one is just right!
This sweater is my seventh for the year, which means I am back on track for completing 12 for the year. I’m not sure that I will knit that many, but I do have the yarn and plans for at least six more sweaters. Not sure what I’ll start next (maybe more socks). I currently have a pair of thick hopefully thigh-high socks (I’m about mid-calf in them for a moment). But more on the socks later.
I finished my Great Gatsby Dress! It was a super fast knit (I think I finished it in about a a week), and I’m utterly thrilled with the finished object.
Also, I got about a foot of hair chopped off. It’s delightfully short and I donated about 10 inches to locks of love. Anyway, back to the knitting.
(The bottom’s not uneven, I just don’t stand straight and that bulge is the dress underneath, which is empire waisted)
Pattern: Great Gatsby Dress, from the Summer 2009 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Recycled Linen/Cotton blend, navajo plied and dyed with Dylon Dye
Needle: Mostly US 5/3.75 cause I couldn’t find my 6/4mm KP tips
Mods: Um, a lot. My gauge was like, waaay off (cause you know I don’t swatch), so I did as many repeats of the Fern Lace pattern to get the right width and then modified from there. Also, I left off the picot bind off and just did garter edges.
Like I said, I am so utterly delighted with this dress. I’d been searching for the right yarn in thrift shops for a while, knowing I’d have to recycle a large sweater to make the project affordable. It took some doing, but I finally found a lace-weight linen/cotton blend that was large enough. I frogged it, tripling the yarn as I wound it, and dyed it with about 3/4 a packet of Dylan dye. The dye job came out to the color wanted (dark grey) with some variation (but not enough to be obnoxious).
The pattern itself was pretty easy to follow for the most part, and I really like the effect picking up the skirt stitches on the wrong side has. The bodice was a little confusing, but that’s mostly because my stitch counts were way off. I just mirrored the armholes like the back, which I followed more closely to the pattern, and worked the neckline the way I’d make any scoop necked sweater. The effect: SUPER CUTE.
The only issue I have with the dress is that it’s a wee bit short, which means I have to wear something underneath it (I quite like it over this white dress, which is how I had planned to wear it). I could probably get away with just an underskirt as the top part is pretty opaque (though the stitching is pretty loose, so who knows). I was worried the bodice was going to be do tight, but I did some extra bust inscreases on the side, and it fits quite well.
Next on the knitting agenda is a reknit of my Leah vest. I frogged the longer version cause the shaping didn’t sit right and I plan to remake the shorter version so I can finish drafting the pattern and hopefully get it into testing this week. Cheers!
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 