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So the other day I finished and blocked my Haruni shawl, and I must say that it came out quite well!
Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/haruni”>Haruni
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace
Needles: US 4/3.75 mm
Mods: None
I really really love how this shawl came out. I want to drape it over myself and rub it on my face and snuggle up with it. Unfortunately, it is a hundred degrees outside (the thermometer said 104 yesterday), so alpaca, no matter how light, is just Too Warm for the season. It is delightfully soft though.
The pattern was really easy to follow and the designer explains everything wonderfully, so you can see what’s going on. There are both charted and written directions, which is great when one or the other isn’t quite making sense. The crochet cast-off was incredibly fiddly but that’s not the designer’s fault and it is pretty (so it was worth it). It blocked pretty easily (I used steam and an iron) though I may reblock it when the weather gets colder before I wear it (I’ll probably wet block it next time).
The yarn is absolutely delightful, as one would expect from a baby alpaca yarn. Super soft and cozy. I have another skein in red in the stash and while I thought about combining the two, I’m glad I went with this color for Haruni. It’s super pretty and I love it.
Currently on the needles is the Great Gatsby Dress from IK Summer 2009. I am desperately in love with it and will jabber about that later.
Good news everyone! I’ve finally gotten through the testing/proofing stage of my most recent design, the Arrowhead Lace Shawl (and yes, I’m still working on Leah).
US $5.00
The Arrowhead Lace Shrug is the perfect layering piece for cool summer nights or over-air conditioned office buildings. The lace pattern will work with dressy and casual outfits and it stays on better than a shawl!
Sizes
Upper arm circumference of 10.5” (12.5, 14, 16, 18.5, 20) (Length is customized to fit) (Size shown is 10.5”)
Yarn
1 (2, 2, 2, 2) skeins Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks Naturally Dyed Merino Sock or approx. 380 (440, 480, 520, 580) yards fingering weight yarn
Needles
US 6/4 mm dpns or circular for Magic Loop
Notions
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker
4mm crochet hook (if desired)
Gauge
5 spi in Arrowhead lace, slightly stretched, row gauge not especially important.
So the boyfriend is in town so I haven’t been posting, but I have been knitting! Convinced the boyfriend to help me with photographs, so the sweater I was knitting for a WWFY swap is finished and ready to be mailed off to its rightful owner.
Pattern: Karlsro from Noro Book One
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, seven skeins for the large
Needles: US 10.5 and 10, straights and KP options circular
Mods: None, knit as written
Despite the lack of clarity in the pattern (it’s not very well written and definitely not for beginners), Karlsro was a pretty easy knit and thanks to the huge gauge, knit up super quickly. It was mostly interesting enough to not be boring but simple enough that I didn’t have to concentrate.
This is obviously too big on me since I made a large and I am small, but it’s very stretchy. So I can sort of extrapolate how a small would fit. And since I get to keep the book the pattern is in, I can make another for myself, either in the Noro Kureyon I was sent for payment or in some recycled wool from an ENORMOUS brown sweater I got at the thrift.
As for the yarn: It wasn’t terrible. There was some VM and that was annoying. And there were a bunch of knots with color changes and that was annoying. But for the most part, the yarn did what I ecpected it would–it kinked up because it’s a single and the thickness varies quite a lot. But it’s reasonably soft and it does make a pretty sweater. Am I going to buy some for myself? Absolutely not. But I’m not racing to sell or trade the leftover either (though if you’re dying for four skeins of Silk Garden, we can discuss it).
My current knitting project is working on the Haruni I started a bit ago. I’m a couple rows into chart B. I also embroidered a thing, but I’m going to wait until I find a frame or big enough hoop before I photograph it.
As previously mentioned, I finished my striped socks at the KIP event the other day. I’m pretty thrilled with how they came out and I do love socks.
Pattern: They’re cuff-down socks. Flap heel, wedge toe.
Yarn: Red Heart Heart and Sole (blue) and Lang Jawoll Solid (red)
Needles: US 1 Knit Picks circular for magic loop
They’re socks, and I like them. They’ll be toasty warm in the winter. Hell, they were toasty warm in the D’Art Center, where it was FREEZING. I was in my Green Leaves tank and I was SO COLD. So finishing the socks was lovely so I could warm up my feet.
There is not a whole lot to say about socks other than they are warm and comfortable and they fit well. I shall have to start another pair because as I’ve said before, I’m on something of a sock jag and I really enjoy knitting them. And filling my drawer with handmade socks. Yay!
In other news: Joe is here today! *dances* I am super excited that he is visiting, so forgive me if I am gone for about a week. (But I’ll probably still be around). Yay! Boyfriend!
Today was a WWKIP (World Wide Knit in Public) Day event at the D’Art center in Norfolk. I went and though I didn’t take any pictures (cause I don’t really know anyone and I feel weird about snapping random photos of people) I did have a lot of fun. I finished a pair of socks (which I’ll post about later) and worked on my WWFY sweater. I also got lots of swag!
A bag, some mags, a button, some samples of Miss Babs yarn, a Euclan sample, and some coupons/business cards. I’m never thrilled with Knitter’s, but there are a couple of cute things and there’s a dress in the Debbie Bliss mag I might make (out of cotton, not pure silk like suggested cause I’m not crazy).
There were probably about 50 people there total. I sat with a group of lovely women who welcomed me (as I’m sure I looked SUPER confused upon arriving, not knowing anyone there). Of COURSE I didn’t get their names, but they were lovely. I sat down, pulled out my sock to knit and started to flip through the Knitter’s mag. One of the women there (not at my table but wandering around) came over, saw me flipping through the mag and said, “Oh, I have to give you something! I’m with Knitter’s and you’re actually looking at the magazine!” So she gave me a Juniper Moon Fiber Farm button (yay!) and a tape measure.
Everyone who came got a ticket for a door prize drawing (there were a LOT of prizes), two if you brought a charity knit (I didn’t but I SHOULD HAVE). They drew a bunch of tickets every half hour or so. I had arrived at 12:45. I left at 4:45. I kept listening to the numbers–not mine, not mine. Finally, the Knitting Guild President (the sponsor of the event and the woman who was running things) said, “Is there anyone who’s still here that hasn’t won something?” I raised my hand.
I was the only one. She drew the last of the tickets and I did win (finally) but I was literally the last person to win anything. Gah. I won a book and some yarn:
I’m not crazy about either but I’m thinking I can trade the book and the yarn will probably be a shawl or scarf of some kind. I don’t especially care for the 47% acrylic, but I’ll deal. After all, I won it!
It was nice to hang out with other knitters who know what they are doing, can knit more than garter stitch and know what ssk, MadTosh, and US 6/4mm mean. I had a lot of fun and I will definitely be looking for more KIP events in my area next year.
Well, after a few weeks of knitting whatever the hell I wanted, I’ve decided to take on a couple more Will Work for Yarn trades. I’m also still knitting a sock. The sock, so far, looks like this:
Pretty simple, smooth going. But I’m putting it aside to work on soakers for a swap. The pattern in question is the adorable Turtle Butt soaker. The yarns in questions are a variety:
The mostly-knit one is one that I am finishing (the grafting and the leg cuffs). Then there’s a medium in black and pink and a large one in grey and blue/green. In return, I received a skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepard Worsted in Flames, a skein of my partner (SeptemberSocks)’s hand dye (same colorway as the blue/green above) and two colors (two and three skeins) of Alpaca Cloud (in Smoke and a darker grey). So yeah, I basically win. At least one of the colors of Alpaca cloud will become a giant shawl and we shall just see about the others.
Stay tuned for some swap stuff and the inevitable progress on the soakers. Also, I started a sewing project that I promise to show you at some point before it’s actually done.
When I said Lanesplitter was knitting up quickly, I meant it. It’s already done and I started it like, three days ago. And now I have a finished skirt to wear! For the winter, when it’s not too hot to wear a wool skirt.
Pattern: Lanesplitter from a recent Knitty.
Yarn: Recycled wool that I hand dyed.
Needles: US 10/6 mm
Mods: I skipped the waist band and threaded a crochet chain in the top. Better fit and I didn’t have to knit ribbing. Yay!
So, I love this skirt. Hand dyed yarn, thick yarn, big needles? HELL YES. Also, it’s super comfortable. And also really cute. I was worried how to yarns would work together, but it came out well. I wasn’t sure how I liked it all the way up until the end when it was done and I decided it was cute.
ALSO I managed to mostly line up the stripes and by mattress stitching instead of blanket stitching, it sort of looks seamless. The seam is pretty hard to see unless you’re right up on my butt, anyway. And few people should be that close to my butt.
In other knitting news, I started another pair of socks. And I found Vampire Knits at the library which means OF COURSE I am knitting the Prim Reaper Corset. I might even make a swatch.
Happy Memorial Day! I believe I mentioned these socks before. I used much of the left overs from the Ravenclaw-color socks I made.
Pattern: Made up as I went, heel-down this time.
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll, Shoreline Twist (blue and brown)
Needles: US 1 circular, magic loop
These are a wee bit shallow, but in general, I like how they came out. I now have two pairs of hand-knit sockettes so I can give my Bugga! pair a rest and I get to wear handknit socks in June. Yay! I do need to get new flats though–the one pair I have left is beginning to wear thin.
As I believe I mentioned before, I really like Knit Picks Stroll. It’s a good, solid sock yarn and it’s super cheap. Plus, this is such a great color and I get to show off my geeky love for Harry Potter in a subtle way (but I’ll tell just about everyone they’re Ravenclaw colors)
There isn’t a tremendous amount to say about these socks; they were a pretty simple knit and they’re a simple, utilitarian object. In other craft news, I am working on some felted things for a swap, still working on the shorts, and I’ve done some dyeing I dyed up two skeins in a blue/purple mottled color and I currently have four skeins of cashmere in the crock pot hopefully taking on a teal color. I’ll show you pictures of those things when the cashmere is finished. : )
So I mentioned the other day (and possibly last week) that I was working on a lace shrug, and I finally finished knitting it and got it blocked and photographed.
Pattern: My own, which I’m working on writing up. It’s currently unnamed, so if you’ve got a suggestion, send it along! There might be a free pattern in it for you. : )
Yarn: Abundant Dyeworks Naturally Dyed Merino Sock (one skein, Scarecrow)
Needles: US 6/4 mm
So I originally meant to knit this on size four needles and then I grabbed the wrong ones to cast on, and now it’s on sixes. No matter, I rather like how the lace pattern opened up on the sixes. I think the shrug turned out pretty well-it was simple to knit but a really interesting looking result, and it will be a perfect layering piece for chilly summer nights or over-air conditioned office buildings. Stays on better than a shawl and looks cute to boot. : )
I really like the yarn I chose for this (though I admit it was mostly out of necessity; I didn’t have a lot that would work). It’s a two-ply superwash merino (so I wasn’t going to use it for socks) that I got from a WWFY trade–for the Manly Aran socks, actually. It’s soft and looks like it’ll hold up pretty well, so I think I’m going to recommend it for use in the pattern. I don’t usually specify a yarn (and really, any fingering weight wool or cotton blend would work), but this one is not too difficult to obtain and I really like it. Plus, what will be the smallest size of the pattern (the one I knit) can be made with one skein of yarn. It was close, but I made it, crochet border and all.
I’m going to list the pattern on Free Pattern Testers on Ravelry later today if you’d like to test. Or, I’ll announce here when the pattern is available.
In other knitting news, I recently cast on for a pair of shorts in Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton (it’s so soft). And no, knitted shorts are not weird. People think they are but they’re so comfortable. I wear the last pair I made all the time and they don’t sag or bunch at all. They’re super cute. This pair will be knit in pure cotton as opposed to cotton/acrylic, but we’ll see how it goes.
Oh, and in case you’re still wondering, I am still working on the Leah vest pattern. I don’t have the FO with me so I can’t measure length to finish it up, but I hope to get that written and out to testers within a week of my returning to Virginia Beach (I’m leaving DC on Thursday).
I finished the socks I started just the other day, possibly because I used a larger needle than I usually knit socks with.
Pattern: It’s a cuff-down sock. Regular toe, flap/gusset heel.
Yarn: Yarnbee Walk Away, colorway “For Kicks”
Needles: US *2*, a circular I bought at the Yarn Club, a new LYS in Virginia Beach
So these socks are knit a bit loose than I usually knit socks but the yarn is also very thick for sock yarn–it’s almost like a light sport weight. The socks are pretty comfortable and I suspect that once I toss them in the washing machine and dryer, they’ll tighten up a bit. They fit pretty well and the yarn is soft enough.
Knitting with the yarn was kind of a PITA though. It’s kind of like corespun–it’s wooly on the outside, but there’s a core thread of elastic/nylon and the two fibers stretch at different rates, so the wooly bit kept getting bunched up on the core thread. That was annoying. Also, the core shows through in a couple of spots.
On the whole, I’m pretty happy with the socks though. The color is quite lovely and I even got them to match! (Mostly–one is about a row ahead of the other.) I’m sure they will get lots of wear this winter when it is cool enough to wear mid-calf-high wool socks. Now I have three pairs like that!
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m on something of a sock kick lately. Currently I have another pair of footies (for flats) on the needles (from the Ravenclaw yarn). I’m also about halfway through a shrug I’m designing (and hoping to finish with 380 yards–it’s gonna be close). Got some real work done on grown-up things yesterday and tonight I’m off to a pedicure with my boyfriend’s mother and sister (which is lovelier than it might sound–I quite like them). Still have to figure out how I’m getting back to Virginia Beach next week, but right now, I’m just going to relax and try not to kick some poor woman in the face when she inevitably tickles my very ticklish feet.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 