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I’m in Virginia Beach until tomorrow, and the weather is BEAUTIFUL. It’s like 80 outside, and sunny, and it’s lovely in comparison to the snow flurries and freezing cold that has been much of the rest of my “spring break”. It’s fitting that just as the weather is looking up, I’ve JUST finished my cabled cardigan. I still have to sew on the buttons, so a proper FO post will follow once I do the buttons and photograph it. More details on that later.
To match the beautiful weather, I’ve started Hey Teach from the summer ’08 Knitty. I’m using Cascade Sierra, which I actually bought from KnitWits, my LYS in the Beach, instead of a big box craft store. The Sierra was actually a pretty good price, and it’s cotton and wool, so it won’t stretch as much as pure cotton. Also: It’s SO SOFT. Definitely the softest cotton I’ve ever felt. It’s amazing.
Anyway, between yesterday and this morning, I’ve finished a sleeve and brought it and the yarn outside for a photo in the bright summery sun:
Though I’ve sworn off set-in sleeves as a result of the cable cardi (more on that later), I couldn’t resist Hey Teach, and I’ll just sew the sleeves in before I sew the side seams, making everything easier by a long shot. Knitting this so far has been an absolute joy because of the yarn but I also can’t wait to wear such a bright, summery color. : )
What I actually should be working on is a paper, some math homework, and various swap projects, but the call of the Cascade Sierra is so great.
Unfortunately, it is still quite cold, both in Virginia Beach, where I live, and in Fredericksburg, where I school. The sun, however, is shining, and I took advantage of it, snapping this lovely wip photo of my cable cardigan:
But as I’ve said, it’s still cold. I’m home on spring break, but my bedroom, where I spend much of my time, is freezing because the heat doesn’t reach back there. As a result, I had to whip up these:
I used Caron Felt-It in colorway Evening Mist and 4.5mm dpn’s. I used my basic mitten pattern, but I knit these from the top down to make sure I had enough to finish both mitts (I did, with yarn left over). They came out a little too large and I had to rip back the thumb gusset on the first one a few times before I figured it out, but I like them. They’re soft and squishy.
The yarn is interesting. I have a little left over, and I think I’m going to felt something–probably a little bowl. From what I’ve seen on Ravelry, it felts pretty well, which is to be expected seeing as the yarn is pretty much roving.
One last thing: right before leaving school for break, I whipped up this:
A holder for my double-pointed needles (and also crochet hooks). I bought some dowels recently to make my own dpns, so once I finish them, I’ll be moving my crochet hooks elsewhere. I still need something for them and also my circular needles (of which I need many more sizes… Especially 6’s and 7’s).
While walking around campus the other day, I happened upon this:
A tree cozy, for that little branch. Or: more knit graffiti. I love seeing this sort of thing. : )
In other news, I’m still plugging away on my cardigan. I’ve just started waist decreases and have about, oh, six or seven more inches before I have to separate the pieces for the armholes and such (the pattern is in pieces, but I knit the body as one so I wouldn’t have to seam).
I never swatch. Ever. I’ve never made a swatch, and I never measure gauge (well, okay, occasionally after I’m half way through something just because I’m curious about it). I’ve knitted many things in my time, and I’ve never swatched for a thing. For most projects, I use the recommended needle size for either the yarn or the pattern. This is usually 8/5mm because I knit almost everything with worsted weight yarn.
Despite my lack of swatches, almost everything I’ve knit has come out about right. For example, I recently knit this hat:
It’s the Norwegian Star Earflap Hat (Rav link), which I knit to work on colorwork. The recommended needles are sevens, and I used an aran-weight yarn (Vanna’s Choice and also some random crappy acrylic from the stash) instead of a worsted. I cast on eighty because that’s what I always cast on for worsted/aran-weight hats. The hat fits perfectly.
Likewise, I didn’t swatch for my most recent sweater project, the cabled cardigan from the Fall 2006 Knit Simple (Ravelry link here). I’m using Vanna’s Choice, and I’m using 8’s because it’s what I have and it’s what I like to use. The recommended needles are 9’s. I knit both sleeves exactly as written (well, there are some pattern issues, so I made some educated changes, but I knit them exactly how they were supposed to be written), and I tried them on. They fit perfectly.
I imagine there’s a fair chance I’ll run into a problem eventually, but I figure a difference of a half a millimeter isn’t a HUGE deal. I’ll continue in my wanton, swatch-free lifestyle–until I catch KTD (knit transmitted disaster).
I love mittens. I love making them and having them and wearing them… They can be simple, with a really nice yarn or with a really simple yarn and complex pattern. Fingerless or convertible, red or blue or green or yellow… I love them all. A mitten is the ultimate in small, portable projects. They can be made with almost any weight of yarn and they only take a couple of hours, unlike socks, which have (generally) small gauge and take a fair amount of time. I love mittens. In the last couple of days, I’ve made a couple of pairs:
(Red Fingerless mitts made with Caron Simply Soft Tweed and a bit of wool from a thrift store sweater to work on stranding for my friend Dalia who requested them.)
(Grey Vanna’s Choice and a couple of yards of black Caron Simply Soft for a commission knit. : ) Was paid for these ones, which is lovely. Got to feed the stash somehow.)
And my favorite of my recently completed mittens:
Owls! Or more specifically, Give a Hoot. I modified the pattern a bit, essentially just using my basic mitten pattern and putting the owl cable bit on the back of them. I also made the purl bits around the owl smaller–a selvage of two rows and stitches instead of four. They’re a little bit snug/short, but that’s not really enough to deter me.
Also, the eyes on these are little silver beads–actual silver. I have a bunch of these little beads and am not entirely sure what to do with them all. Maybe I’ll turn some of them into stitch markers. : )
Currently on the needles, I have the second sleeve of a sweater I’ve recently started. It’s the cabled cardigan from the Fall 2006 issue of Knit Simple, which I bought offline several weeks ago. The Ravelry page for the cardigan is here. I’m using Burgundy Vanna’s Choice and doing the sleeves in the round and the body as one piece to cut down on seaming, which I hate. I’m also working on/starting the Norwegian Star Earflap Hat (Rav link) because A, I love hats for the same reasons I love mittens and B, I want to work on colorwork. I’ve recently done Entrelac (just practice) and I can do cables and lace. It seems colorwork is my next big knitting adventure. : )
I finally finished my Corona after much knitting and much modifying:
I really love how it came out. It seems I added just enough length for the sweater to sit comfortably on me. I also shortened the sleeves, as you can see, since I don’t have the patience for long sleeves and I’m not sure how much I want to wear bulky sleeves. Additional modifications:
-Shortened the rib section. I don’t need five inches of 1×1 rib over my stomach/hips, and also I hate knitting 1×1 rib.
-The ribbing on the sleeves is 2×2 because I wasn’t paying attention and that’s how I did the sleeves for the Cable Cardi. Yes, I am smart.
-Obviously, I took off the hood. I don’t wear hoods and they take too long to knit. I’m impatient.
-I decreased for the neckline more rapidly than in the pattern so the V would pull open a bit more.
I used Vanna’s Choice acrylic in Powder Blue. It was cheap and I’m a cheap college student. I’m sure it will pill something terrible, but it’s quite warm and I’m rather fond of it for the moment.
Here is a hat I finished several weeks ago and sent home to my sister (that’s her in the picture):
I sort of used this pattern, but with Red Heart Super Saver, 4.5 mm dpns and much MUCH less increasing. It’s still rather large, but my sister’s head is bigger than mine and she appears to like it alright. The ribbon helps to keep the band smaller also, since ribbing and Red Heart Super Saver don’t really go together well.
Here is one more hat, which completes my cold weather set:
I used a 5 mm circular needle and dpns with Mirasol Miski, which I am convinced is the softest yarn on the planet. It is wonderful to work with and despite the rather loose ply isn’t splitty at all. And it’s made from llama fur! And the proceeds help build schools for girls in Peru! If I could afford it, I would use this yarn SO much more often. Unfortunately, I am in college. : (
Currently on the needles, I have a pair of fingerless mitts for my friend Dalia and another pair of mittens for myself. The mittens are super cool, and you will be impressed, despite the very simple pattern. : )
I recently participated in a swap on Craftster, the theme of which is naughty words. Awesome, yeah? Well, both my partner and myself have received, so here I will provide you with pictures of all the swear-y goodness.
From me (and these are her pictures because… well, my camera, my laptop, my hard drive, and I don’t really get along that well):
A coffee cozy (Red Heart acrylic on eights, knit flat and seamed. Says Fuck), a pair of fingerless mittens with very crude embroidery/duplicate stitched “fuck!” and “shit!”, a little pouch (with a snap! And a wristband!), and the most awesome bag I’ve ever made. The lettering was a bit tedious, but if anyone wants a bag like this, let me know. I’m more than happy to commission another one cause it was quite fun to make. Also: other words. : )
Anyway, here is my totally bitchin’ package from my partner:
A door sign which is currently on my bookshelf:
Note cards for wishing someone “Whore!” or “Cunt!”:
A kickass box, in which to store my stitch markers:
Many of which she made me:
(As a side-note, I fucking LOVE stitch markers and would like to horde some awesome ones. I’m planning like 47 more swaps, expressly for this purpose.)
And this FUCKING AWESOME embroidery, which is currently residing on my printer:
It was an awesome swap! If you want to see more swear-y, crafty awesome, the swap gallery is located here.
Hello all! I am officially back to the blog. *dance* Things on the old laptop are still clusterfuck-esque, but in the mean time, I have a small temp laptop which works just as well and (more importantly) will allow me to share pictures of crafty things. There are several things to post since I’ve last been at the pictures.
First: My Talia, finished a couple of weeks ago. I used about 2.5 skeins of Vanna Choice acrylic:
It was a bit snug and in the future, I would make the small instead of the extra small. Because of this (and also a lack of buttons), I made a tie front using a length of croceted chain, and that’s working out just fine.
Next: My first pair of mittens made from a more or less improvised pattern using 4.5mm dpns and Ella Rae Classic wool (and a little Lion Wool for the contrast):
I don’t know if you can tell in the picture, but one of the pair is considerable larger than the other, but I am still quite proud of them. I wore them to play in the snow, so the palms are a little felted, but I still adore them. : )
I also made my friend Jon a pair of fingerless mitts so he can have warm hands but be able to press buttons on his camera. They are made out of Vanna’s Choice, random blue acrylic, and my mitten pattern, just without the tops.
He’s very silly. : )
Last but not least, I made myself a cold weather set out of the softest, most amazing yarn EVER. The yarn is Mirasol Miski, which is made from baby llama fur. It is SO SOFT AND SO WARM OH MY GOD.
The set consists of mittens and a cowl (which is just a seamed garter stitch rectangle) and will include a hat when I finish knitting it (just a basic beanie).
I’ve also cast on recently for a Corona (Ravelry link) which currently looks like this:
I’m using Vanna’s Choice again because it’s what I have. And it’s cheap. And I’m a cheap college student.
Soon, probably, I will also have secret swap pictures to show, but you’ll just have to wait. : )
After much time and much vacationing in Florida, I come bearing pictures of all the FO’s I did over winter break. I finished a ton of things, including two hats, two calorimetries, a shrug, and some other things. Pictures!
Hat number one: cable and rib hat of my own divising, based on the pattern from the cable and rib scarf which resembles the Irish Hiking scarf/hat, though that wasn’t intentional.
Bernat Softee Chunky, size 8 dpn’s and a circular, knitted rather loosely.
Two calorimetries, one of which is a gift, and one of which I may keep for myself or may be a gift.
Random blue acrylic from the stash and hand-dyed wool from a thrift store sweater. The pink, hand-dyed one was done using tie-dye, and I crocheted the buttons for both myself due to lack of buttons. I adore this pattern because it knits up, no joke, in two hours. Yay. I only cast on 80 for both, and that was plenty long enough. I repeated row 5 enough times to get 22 stitches on either side of the marker. On the blue one, I used a wrap and turn thing (s last stitch wyif, turn, s1 purlwise, p1, etc.) to make the holes smaller, which worked wonderfully.
Circular shrug:
Made with Caron Simply Soft and size 8’s. CO 200, which worked out fine. Made for my sister for Christmas. The damn thing took FOREVER to knit, and I was very much glad when it was finished. (It is totally finished, seaming and all, I just don’t quite have pictures of the finished project quite yet.
Another hat:
Random blue acrylic and blue Simply Soft, size 8 dpn’s and a circular. Made for my brother for Christmas. Just a simple stockinette with a roll brim.
Coffee Cozies:
Mostly various colors of Red Heart Super Saver in very small amounts I had in the stash. I started browsing a list of various stitches, and that’s how I did the checkerboard one, but I mostly just used variagated yarn or stripes to do my basic coffee cozy: CO 13 or 15 and keep a garter border for three stitches on each side, stockinette in the middle. Continue for nine inches or to fit, sew together. I don’t really know to whom these will go but, there is one that I know the recipient of:
That is my sad attempt at embroidery. It’s a dinosaur; can you tell? Well, I tried.
Currently on the needles, I have a scarf for a friend (which needs to be finished by Monday) and a ladder yarn scarf for my mother, but who knows when that will get finished. In the planning stages, I have a beret (the Meret, actually), a Talia vest (from Knitty) and various unbloggable (well, until much later anyway) things. Also, I bought a bunch of tees, so looks for some t-shirt tote bags on Etsy (and here) soon.
Since last updating, I’ve finished a hat and a coffee cozy and have ALMOST finished my sister’s circular shrug (I have about two and a half more inches of ribbing, and then I have to seam). I’ve still got a couple of things to make for various friends at school including at least one calorimetry, a beanie, and a bunch more coffee cozies.
I’m currently in Florida until the fifth of January, so updates will be a bit scarce. The internet is a little iffy, so I won’t be able to post pictures until I get home to my own internet connection. Then I’ll have pictures of the rest of the Christmas knitting, and possibly some other things.
Also, though I knit with needles and not usually a loom, this scarf looks SO COOL. I’ll have to try it out with some stash yarn.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 