Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!

FO: Karlsro

June 26, 2011 in knitting, swap | Tags: finished object, FO, knitting, noro, swap, sweater, wool, wwfy, yarn | 2 comments

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.

FO: Harvard Vs. Yale Socks

June 21, 2011 in knitting | Tags: finished object, FO, knitting, socks, stripes | Leave a comment

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!

WWKIP Day at D’Art Center

June 19, 2011 in knitting, life | Tags: kip, knit in public, knitting guild of virginia, knitting. events, life, swag, wwkip day, yarn | 2 comments

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.

Swap Time!

June 18, 2011 in crochet, Misc. Crafts, swap | Tags: bowls, crochet, diy, dog toys, felting, finished object, FO, ows, recycling, swap, t-shirt crafts | Leave a comment

I made some things for a swap. They are not particularly ground-breaking, but I quite like how they turned out. : ) I claimed Craftster user SciFunk for felted nesting bowls and something else I had yet to determine. Here are the felted bowls:

I used Lamb’s Pride, Lion Wool, and some orange wool (I think Cascade 220?). And another color of Cascade 220. I like making these little bowls. They’re super quick and a great way to use up small bits of wool. Crochet a bowl, throw in the washer and dryer and hit it with some steam and an ironing and you have cute bowls.

After much dithering and pouring over SciFunk’s list, I finally decided what else to make for her. Dog toys was on her list, so I whipped up three rope toys:

I used strips of t-shirt fabric from some left-over sleeves (from the university shirt-quilt I’m making and will show pictures of eventually). Cut off the hem, cut the sleeve open, and cut across for a straight strip. Tie a knot in the top, braid, and tie a knot in the bottom. Voila!

The thicker ones used both sleeves of each shirt (so there were six strips) and the thinner one used one sleeve (three strips). They took about 10 minutes to make all of them and that’s only because the bottom knots in the thicker ones were a little difficult to tie. If my dog actually enjoyed this sort of thing, I’d make some for him, but he doesn’t.

Yarn!

June 13, 2011 in stash, swap | Tags: knitting, noro, ravelry, stash, swap. wwfy, yarn | 1 comment

So today I received in the mail a metric fuck-ton of yarn. A grand total of 21 skeins (plus a pattern book). Half Noro Silk Garden and half Noro Kureyon. Before you ask, no I didn’t buy it. And no, I don’t keep to keep all of it. I’ve started another WWFY trade. I’ll be knitting this sweater:

Out of this yarn:

And in return I get to keep the book, the leftovers and ten skeins of Noro Kureyon:

I’m pretty stoked about this trade. I’ve never worked with Noro before and I’ve heard some bad things about it. But I’ve balled up a few skeins of the Silk Garden and I kind of like it so far. It has a similar thick/thin/single texture to Lamb’s Pride (a yarn I LOVE) and the colors are pretty. I’ll be on the lookout for awkward color sequences and missing dye, but I haven’t seen any major problems (or major vm) in the 3.5 balls I’ve done so far.

I don’t anticipate this sweater taking long (it’s knit from side to side on freakin’ 10.5’s) so I’ll probably be taking a break from Haruni and my blue/red socks. I want to finish at least the first chart of Haruni before I start this sweater (as chart A is the perfect thing to knit while I’m watching SG1 on my computer–interesting but not hard).

I’ll let you know progress as I make it and I promise I’ll show WIP photos of the socks and Haruni soon.

Stamps! That I Carved!

June 9, 2011 in Misc. Crafts | Tags: carving, lino cutting, scrap booking, stamping, Stargate | 1 comment

The other week I got a swap package from a crafter in the OWS swap. It contained some metaloic embroidery floss, some perle cotton, and some stamp carving supplies, including a lino cutter and a sheet of speed ball. Armed with that and also some cheap erasers, I made the following stamp (and am a huge nerd):

Mustache, yarn ball, Erlenmeyer flask, Mac apple, the Earth symbol from Stargate (I just recently finished (and LOVED) SGA and have started SG1), and three gears (I was going for a little steampunk-y).

They weren’t too difficult to carve, especially with tools better suited that the metal end of a pencil. I love how them came out (especially the yarn and the Mac apple) and I will have to find lots of occasions to include them. : )

I’ve also been knitting. I’m almost done with the red/blue striped socks and I started a lace shawl. I also whipped up a set of nesting bowls for a swap. But more on those later.

FO: Swap Stuff

June 6, 2011 in crochet, swap | Tags: amigurumi, bowls, crocheting, felting, minion, ows, swap | 1 comment

One of my OWS partners recently received what I sent her, so it’s high time I showed it here! I’m pretty pleased with how everything came out. I claimed her for a minion ami (from the movie Despicable Me) and some felted nesting bowls.

I used some acrylic I had kicking around. I didn’t really follow a pattern but I looked at a couple crochet versions and sort of made it up as I went. I think it came out pretty well. The eye is made out of felt cause I didn’t want to crochet a little circle (it would have been too thick). I think he came out pretty cute!

The yarns used for the bowls, all leftovers from other things, are, from outside in, Lion Wool Solid, Berocco Alpaca Ultra, a different color of Lion Wool, and Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride. I crocheted them and chucked them in the washer then steamed/ironed them to smooth out the wrinkles.

My partner (LuckDragon on Craftster) seemed to like what I sent her. : ) I’ve just claimed someone else for a set of nesting bowls, so expect to see them again here soon.

WWFY and Stuff

June 4, 2011 in knitting, stash, swap | Tags: baby things, knitting, soaker, stash, swap, trades, wip, work in progress, wwfy, yarn | 1 comment

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.

FO: Lanesplitter

June 2, 2011 in knitting | Tags: dyeing, FO, knitting, lanesplitter, skirt, yarn | 2 comments

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.

Fun with Dye

May 31, 2011 in dyeing | Tags: dye, dyeing, kool aid, yarn | 1 comment

In the past couple of days, I’ve finally gotten around to dyeing up some yarn I’ve been meaning to dye for a bit. I used my crock pot and easter egg dyes and Kool-aid.

The first yarn I dyed was a cream worsted weight wool I got from a recycled thrift store sweater. It was huge and cabled and the finished yarn came out of the crock pot looking BEAUTIFUL:

I used a packet of purple Kool-Aid and blue and red (and I think maybe a purple) tablets of Easter egg dye with a good splash of vinegar. I was going for a dark purple, but I love how it came out. I am already knitting this up into a Lanesplitter skirt with some wool I dyed last summer:

I like how the colors work together, though I didn’t at first. Worsted weight yarn on size 10 needles works up super fast, so I am already past the increase section and about halfway through the straight section even though I just started yesterday.

The other yarn I dyed was originally a yellow lace-weight cashmere. I don’t especially care for yellow, so I threw it into the crock pot with some blue and green Easter egg dye:

It’s lighter than I wanted but still pretty. The purple spots are where I accidentally threw in some Tropical Punch Kool-Aid. The packet is blue but the powder is red and I wasn’t reading especially closely, so… Still, I like how it came out, better than if had just been green. I was shooting for teal but this is more like grass and wild strawberries. I think it’ll look cool when it’s knit up.

I recently finished a couple of stealth FO’s for a swap, so I’ll have those for you in the next couple of days as well as Lanesplitter progress. I’m still working on my shorts but striped diagonal multi colored hand-dye is a lot more interesting knitting than solid colored cotton stockinette, so I’ve set it aside for a bit. I don’t expect it will sit too long before I finish it though–I’m about halfway up past the legs, so I have about two inches in the front and two inches + short rows in the back, then ribbing. It’s not a particularly time-intensive pattern, but I was feeling the itch of startitus so I cast on Lanesplitter.

I also started a large-scale sewing project, but more on that later. : )