Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!

FO: Pauline

November 2, 2013 in knitting | Tags: bonnet, finished object, FO, hat, knitting | Leave a comment

Day two of NaBloPoMo and it’s another finished object! We’re on a roll so far.

Pattern: Pauline by Kristen Hanley Cardozo
Yarn: Juniper Moon Farms Marlowe in Georgiana, about three-quarters of a skein
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: I did a twisted cord instead of garter for the ties. I used an icord bind off for the last 20 stitches and did an applied icord edging for the rest.

I’m pretty chuffed with my new hat. It covers my ears really well, and it’s super cute. It took me just a few hours to knit–I started it on Wednesday evening (got about an inch in) and knit most of it at work on Thursday. Super quick. I did have to measure with my hand because I forgot a tape measure. I know my hand is about 7″ from wrist to tip of middle finger, so I knit until it was about half an inch shy of that. Perfect.

I took these photos before blocking because I wanted to catch the light (it’s so hard to get pictures of knits during the work week with the days getting shorter and having to work until 5:15). I did block it though. Well, I steam blocked it, which is the most I really ever block anything (except weaving, which gets the whole bath and everything).

(Um, ignore my face)

This pattern ended up being perfect for the yarn. I have a little 30 yard ball left over and who knows what I’ll do with that, but this is absolutely the pattern for this hat. The merino/silk single SHINES in all that stockinette. It’s not my usual color palette (it’s a bit light for me; I tend towards more jewel tones), but it’s MINE. Especially since I paid full retail price for this yarn, and it wasn’t cheap. I don’t feel bad about it though, cause I bought it at an LYS (in Frederickburg) and I like supporting local businesses, plus I like Juniper Moon. I can’t really afford to participate in her CSA (boo!), but I could buy a ball of Juniper Moon yarn.

Coming up on Chez Stitch Brinn Stitch is actually another finished object probably (I’m typing this on Friday and I miiiight be able to finish this project by tomorrow. Which is today if you’re reading this on post day) and I have some pretty yarns to show off. Because (of course) I’m doing more WWFY swaps, and showing off the pretty yarn I get in return is excellent blog fodder when I’m trying to post every day. Who doesn’t want to see yarn glamour shots? No one, that’s who. No one. Or maybe yarn muggles. But probably no one.

FO: Camille Cardigan

November 1, 2013 in knitting | Tags: cardigan, finished object, FO, knitting, nablopomo, recycled, sweater | 1 comment

Welcome to NaBloPoMo day one! NaBloPoMo, wherein I attempt to post on this blog every day for the whole month of November. Last year I got about five days in before I accidentally skipped a day and the year before I think I made it two whole weeks. Maybe this year will be the year I accomplish it. Or maybe I’ll totally forget tomorrow. One of those.

Anyway, we’re starting the month off right with a finished object. And not just any finished object, but a sweater!

Pattern: Camille Cardigan from the Winter 2012 Knitscene
Yarn: Recycled super bulky 70/30 cotton/wool, the whole sweater (seriously, there are like ten yards left)
Needles: US 11/8 mm
Mods: Welllll, I followed the directions for the shoulders and sleeves (the Contiguous method) and then I just sort of made it up as I went. It’s a pretty simple cardigan, and I’ve made cardigans before. I did so some of the short rows in the collar, but I did leave a lot of them out.

You guys, this sweater is number twelve for the year. TWELVE. True, this one took me five days to knit BUT STILL. TWELVE. Everything from here on out is a bonus (and I’ll probably be making at least one more because who doesn’t need more work cardigans?) I’m completely thrilled with my number twelve, and I’m pretty sure I will wear it all the time. It’s simple, well-fitted (but roomy enough for clothes underneath), and classy enough for work.

Let me tell you about this yarn, y’all. It’s gigantic. My gauge is like 2.5 stitches per inch. It’s recycled (of course), and it used to look like this:

I have no idea what the yardage is (probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 500), but I used almost every single yard. I was a little worried I was going to run out when I did the button band/collar, but it worked out alright in the end.

The buttons, incidentally, are also recycled. They came off of this sweater:

Except I apparently had another button that matched, because this sweater appears to only have five buttons and I definitely sewed on six to my sweater. Maybe there was an extra button sewn into the tag at the side seam. Some sweaters have those.

Anyway, I love my new sweater.

It’s warm and snuggly and soft. I even like the bright red color, even though I tend towards cooler colors usually. Love this thing. LOVE.

FO: Nalu Mitts

October 31, 2013 in knitting | Tags: fingerless mitts, finished object, FO, knitting, mitts, swap, wwfy | 2 comments

Happy Halloween, folks! I’m pretty sure I have no plans (some friends had a party last weekend; I was Little Red Riding Hood–I’ll take any excuse to wear my capelet), but there’s knitting to show off!

Pattern: Nalu Mitts by Leila Raabe
Yarn: Cephalopod Yarns Traveller in Kalamazoo, about half a skein
Needles: US 4/3.75 mm
Mods: I did my plug&play mitts as usual, although I did use the cast on number from the pattern

I made some mitts! They were super quick and the pattern was easy to follow. I don’t usually care to knit 1×1 twisted ribbing, but I liked how the cables flow from the ribbing in the pattern, so I went with it. It looks stunning in this yarn, y’all. So glad I went with it.

These came out a little bigger than I would have liked. The pattern calls for casting on 46, which is just a bit too much, I think, for Anna-Marie’s hands (and mine as well) I usually cast on about 40 for dk weight yarn and US 4 needles for our tiny hands, which works out pretty perfectly. Not that I’ll make these again because there are too many other fun mitt patterns to try, but still.

I really love this yarn, y’all. It’s so pretty. It was SO lovely to work with. Cephalopod (and before them Sanguine Gryphon) has such gorgeous colors. Love them.

FO: Pretty Thing

October 29, 2013 in knitting | Tags: cowl, finished object, FO, knitting, pretty thing, smoke ring, swap, wwfy | Leave a comment

Next in the never-ending line of FOs from chez Stitch Brinn Stitch is a cowl I made for Anna-Marie of CorgiHillFarm (seriously, go buy her stuff, it’s amazing; I have, ahem, several braids).

Pattern: Pretty Thing by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Superior, about half a skein
Needle: US 6/4 mm (that’s bigger than called for but I don’t have a 16″ US 4 and I knit tightly)
Mod: None, knit as written

I would definitely classify this as a smoke ring. It’s just a soft little wisp of a thing, but it’s so soft. The yarn is mostly cashmere, and it feels like wearing a kitten (so says Anna-Marie). It’s a gorgeous pattern and so simple to knit: only 119 stitches around and 61 rows. It knits up in no time.

(ignore my face please)

It would have been completely easy street knitting except for the yarn. Knit up, the yarn is gorgeous and soft and warm and lovely and just so nice. All those words. During the knitting, though? Oh, the knitting. It’s stringy, splitty, and a tiny little barely-there strand that made knitting k2togs a PITA. It was Not Fun to work with, especially for the first couple rows before there’s anything there to pull the knitting down.

Once I was about a centimeter in to the knitting, it was much better. If I got annoyed with it, I just stopped knitting and petted it for a while. And it is only 61 rows. I highlighted each row as I was working it, and that let me keep track of where I was really easily. I don’t often work from printed patterns (I usually just bring them up on a computer or phone or something and work from there; it doesn’t help that I don’t have a printer at home), but I do like it for charts.

I will almost certainly make another of these for me. I won’t use lace weight (I’ve learned that lesson), but I think it would be really nice in something with some body. Something to make it stand up a little instead of pooling around the throat (which is fine, just not generally what I want in a cowl). Maybe I’ll combine some cashmere and some silk or a cashmere/wool blend and knit it out of that. I have about half a skein of the Superior left. Maybe I’ll hold it together with something sturdier and let the cashmere halo make it soft like kittens.

In the mean time, it’s shark central over here and I’m knitting a bunch more things for Anna-Marie. I also had time to knit a separate thing for me, but you’ll hear more about that later. I’m planning to participate in NaBloPoMo again this year, wherein I attempt to post every day for the month of November. I’ve attempted it for the last couple of years, but I’ve yet to be successful. Maybe this year.

In fandom news, I’ve finished my rewatch of SG1. Sam Carter is still my favorite person ever, but Vala is a pretty close second. I’ve since started watching the Justice League, which is delightful. My feelings about the Justice League can pretty much be summed up thusly: If you don’t love Hawkgirl, you’re wrong. I watched Batman: Year One and Justice League: Doom the other day and then last night I watched an episode of Justice League that had Cheetah, but she wasn’t voiced by Claudia Black, which was super disappointing. Incidentally, Nathan Fillian makes the best Green Lantern ever, and he should be Green Lantern in all the things. In general, I prefer Marvel heroes to DC, but I do love what a great job DC does with continuity in the Animated Universe. If you’re interested in hearing (reading) me geek out over Justice League and other nerdery, my Twitter account is a good place to go. And yes, we’re still reading I, Jedi. Joe’s got a pretty terrible cold, so that’s kind of put a damper on the reading. We’ll finish it one day.

FO: Sparkle Socks

October 21, 2013 in knitting | Tags: finished object, FO, knitting, socks | 2 comments

I made some socks!

They sparkle!

Pattern: It’s a sock. Cuff down, gusset/flap heel, wedge toe
Yarn: Berroco Sox Metallic in Fruit Cocktail, about 60g of 100g
Needles: US 1/2.25mm Addi Sock Rockets

These are pretty standard socks, so there isn’t a tremendous amount to say about them. They fit pretty well, although the cuffs are little shorter than my usual, which explains why they only took just over half a skein. I could make a whole other pair if I used coordinating heels, toes, and cuffs (which I very well might; I could probably get away with just different heels).

I completely love the yarn though. It isn’t my usual colors, but it SPARKLES. I love the metallic thread. LOVE. I’m like a magpie, I swear. Aside from the sparkle, it’s a pretty good, basic sock yarn. I have no idea how it will wear, but I think it will be okay. I bought the yarn in an actual LYS (shocking, I know). I finally got around to visited Uniquities after attending a couple of their fiber events. Not that I’m lacking in sock yarn, but I might go back at some point and get some more of this yarn. It was lovely to work with and I do love a sparkle.

On that same trip, I also picked up the thing I was actually there to get, which was a new set of sock needles. I’d previously been using a Knit Picks US 1 fixed circular, which was working okay, but the finish was starting to wear on the needles. I bought them before KP switched their production to China so the quality is still pretty good, but I wanted a newer set anyway. I actually wanted to try out Chiagoo, but I ended up getting Addi Sock Rockets since that’s what the shop had.

I like the needles quite a bit. The cable is a little long for knitting one sock at a time, but I think it will be perfect for knitting two at the same time. I’d still like to try a couple other brands of sock needles, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to another LYS. Plus I have to worry about my bank account because it’s not like I’m going to go to an LYS and ONLY buy ONE set of needles. We all know sock yarn would be coming home with me and I’m supposed to be saving so I have move.

Anyway, socks. They’re simple, they’re utilitarian, and they’re fun to knit. Especially if the yarn sparkles.

FO: Faberge

October 19, 2013 in knitting | Tags: finished object, FO, knitting, shawl, swap, wwfy | 1 comment

I finished another project for Anna-Marie of Corgi Hill Farm. I’m pretty chuffed with it and I’m kind of sad to be sending it away:

Pattern: Faberge by Laura Aylor
Yarn: Plymouth Alpaca Prima, about 2/3 a skein of the blue and almost a full skein of the grey
Needles: US 6/4 mm
Mods: None, knit as written

So this shawl? Super mega fun to knit. You start with the ruffle because, as the designer correctly notes, that way you get the boring part out of the way while you’re still excited about knitting it. You guys, this is 110 percent accurate. The ruffle rows seem to go on FOREVER, but once they’re (finally) done, it’s smooth cruising all the way. The overlay section is super fun (two rows out of six you’re only knitting about half the stitches per row) and the eyelet section has the benefit of getting smaller and smaller as you go. AMAZING.

I am definitely 100 percent knitting one of these for me. I have no idea what yarn I’ll use (something bright and colorful. I’m thinking a solid and a variegated), but it’s happening. The yarn I used for this one is super fuzzy and hairy and I had alpaca hairs all over everything, so I’d definitely like to use a smoother yarn. That being said, the alpaca in this one drapes really nicely.

When I started this one, I was worried the overlay color wouldn’t show up very well on the grey background. As you can see, there was no need to worry and the pattern is perfectly clear, even from a bit of a distance. I’d still like more contrast in mine, but the shawl is quite pretty either way.

It’s kind of difficult to tell from these pictures, but it’s also pretty big. The wingspan is about five feet (well, it’s my wingspan almost exactly and I’m just over five feet tall, so I extrapolated). It’s definitely big enough to tie behind one’s back shrug style, as I often wear my larger shawls. Despite this, it was a pretty quick knit–I made the whole thing in just over a week.

I’m not sure when I’ll get making my own because, as I said last time, it’s shark season and much of my knitting time will be spent there. But it’s definitely on the list. Maybe I’ll make it in some recycled cashmere….

Spinning FO: Cloverleaf Farms Merino

October 17, 2013 in life, spinning | Tags: finished object, FO, life, merino, spinning, stash, yarn | 2 comments

More spinning! Ravelry tells me I spun the yarn in about three weeks, which makes sense. It’s about three weeks worth of spinning for a couple hours in the evenings after work. I started with this roving:

Which I got from Maryland Sheep and Wool this past May. I spun it worsted and it spun up so nicely. The merino was nice and bouncy and crimpy and so soft. There were a couple of felted spots, but that’s probably as much due to how I had it stored as anything else. Here is the resulting yarn:

It’s SO SOFT which is just great. It’s not even by any means as I was aiming for a worsted weight and got more like a heavy sport/dk with spots that are fingering weight and spots that are bulky weight. It came out to 310 yards though, which is pretty excellent yardage for four ounces spun worsted.

I didn’t have a coin handy, so here’s a scale shot with my finger instead. It’s a two ply, and I spun it on the big-ass maple spindle. I split it in half for each ply, then tore off chunks which I then tore into strips and spun. It was not very scientific and I have no idea how the colors will knit up, but I think the result is absolutely gorgeous.

As usual, I have no idea what this loveliness will become. I’m thinking maybe a cowl or something that sits next to the skin since the yarn is so soft. I’m pretty happy just admiring the skein and squishing it for the time being though.

I’ve since started a couple other spinning projects I’m working on intermittently. There’s another 4 ounces of Cloverleaf Merino in purples and greys. There’s some BFL. There’s some Dancing Leaf merino on my Turkish. There’s a tiny little sample of bfl/silk I got from Corgi Hill Farms on the supported. And there’s some merino I took off the supported and am spinning on my little Knot my Day Job spindle. None of them has very much progress and only two of them are listed as WIPs on Ravelry (the two merinos), but they do have singles on the spindles.

In life news: I really ought to start looking for alternate (read: better) job options. I wish my job paid better/offered benefits because I do like it most of the time. I also need to think about looking at apartments so I can move in December. Not sure how that’s going to work out exactly. But I’ve got a little bit of time to think about it.

I’m still watching SG1 (I’m in season nine; Vala is adorable but not as great as Sam, who is my absolute favorite). Joe and I haven’t been making much progress on I, Jedi cause I have a jillion things to watch (Castle, SHIELD, QI, the Daily Show, Colbert, podcasts, etc etc). I’m not really reading any books in particular, although I’m kind of reading Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina. I recently finished reading Tales from Empire, which includes the Zahn/Stackpole collaboration Side Trip (which is the greatest thing ever–Thrawn and Corran and Hal and UGH LOVE IT).

Also, it’s shark mittens season. I have two open orders and I just got another as I was typing this. Which is great; I definitely need the money. And I don’t mind making them. But it does get to be a bit repetitive. It’s okay though. If the piles of sharks gets to me, I’ll just pull out one of my jillion spinning projects.

FO: Rambling Rose

October 10, 2013 in knitting | Tags: finished object, FO, knitting, swap, sweater, wwfy | Leave a comment

I made a sweater! It’s number 11 for the year. Only one more to get twelve and I have three months to do it (maybe I’ll finish the Star Trek dress I started). This one isn’t for me though. It’s for someone on the WWFY swap thread (no worries, I was fairly compensated with sock yarn and enough superwash wool to make Hetty).

Pattern: Rambling Rose from the Winter 06 IK
Yarn: Patons Silk Bamboo in Lotus, seven or eight skeins (I can’t remember the total number I was sent).
Needles: US 6/4 mm
Mods: Fewer yoke decreases for a boat neck and an extra row of Scallops for length, both requested mods. I also had to sew the buttonholes smaller since the button size called for in the pattern were WAY too small for the buttonholes in the pattern. This happens to me all the time and is really annoying. I need to learn a new buttonhole that will stay the size I want it to.

According to Ravelry, it took me just shy of a month to knit this thing. I figure that’s pretty good considering I was working on a bunch of other things at the time. This was a pretty fun knit though–it seemed to fly by. The lace patterning is pretty simple and I wasn’t glued to the chart at all. I tend not to make sweaters in pieces because I suck at seaming, but I think this one came out alright. The pieces did make it go faster though.

It’s a wee bit small on me, which is good since the person who will be wearing the sweater is smaller than me. It should fit her just fine. I probably won’t make this again for me because there are so many other sweater patterns out there I’d like to knit, but I did enjoy making this one.

In life news: I’m thinking about going to the Maryland Renaissance Faire in a couple weeks, on the 19th. A bunch of current and former fencers from UMW (where I went to school) are going up, so I’d go with them. I’m also kinda sorta considering going to Nekocon in Hampton at the beginning of November. It’s kind of a hike (though I could stay with my parents), but I’m not sure I have the spare cash. And I’ll be going to Florida with my folks for Christmas, provided I’m not otherwise employed and thus can’t go. This seems unlikely as, even though it’s two and a half months away, I haven’t really been looking. I like my job most of the time, I just wish I was paid better. I dunno. Meh, being an adult sucks. I say again: Why won’t anyone pay me to watch science fiction tv shows and make things (for me)?

FO: Zuzu’s Petals

October 7, 2013 in knitting | Tags: cowl, finished object, FO, knitting, scarf, swap, wwfy | Leave a comment

Next in a line of finished objects for Anna-Marie of CorgiHillFarm (BUY ALL THE THINGS) is a completely scrumptious cowl:

Pattern: Zuzu’s Petals by Carina Spenser
Yarn: Cephalopod Traveller in Kalamazoo, about half a skein.
Needles: US 9/5.5 mm
Mods: None; knit as written

This was a super quick, fun knit, and I will definitely be making it again for me. The lace is fairly intuitive when you get the hang of it, and it would be super easy to add more repeats for a bigger cowl. The yarn, one which I’ve worked with several times now, is wonderful, as always. A squishy, soft base with an incredible depth of color.

The yarn is just a wee bit dark to really be able to see the pattern in the cowl. I think the original cowl, knit by the designer in a gradient yarn, is fabulous, and I’d love to make one of my own in a gradient. But the one I made is squishy and lovely, and I’m sad to have to give it up. But I know its owner will enjoy it immensely, so there’s that.

In life/fandom news: Still reading I, Jedi and still rewatching SG1. I got caught up on Castle (omg, feels) and I started watching Agents of SHIELD. OMG SHIELD. First of all, Gunn and Shepard Book were in the first episode, so hella squee there. And then there’s Coulson, who is completely perfect and UGH THIS SHOW. I love it to bits. It’s witty and snarky and I’m sure it has flaws, but I’m not seeing them right at the mo. It’s clearly going to get pretty episodic, but I’m mostly okay with that. Castle is super episodic, and I’m still completely enamored with that. Oh SHIELD. Because I needed another fandom. (Okay, it’s kinda technically in the Marvel/Avengers fandom BUT STILL.)

Spinning FO: Fleece

September 30, 2013 in spinning | Tags: finished object, FO, handspun, spinning, stash, yarn | 2 comments

I know, I’m the worst blogger. Anyway, I finished a thing I’ve been working on for literally months: I spun a fleece! Okay, it wasn’t a whole fleece, it was only about 1.5 pounds. But it was 1.5 pounds of sticky, greasy fleece with very little discernible lock structure. I have no idea what breed of sheep it is. I got it when I bought my loom (I’m pretty sure I just mentioned it in passing). I’ve mentioned this project on the blog before.

Anyway, the fiber in question used to look like this:

It’s a hot mess, I know. Anyway, I smacked the fiber into line with my Schacht hand cards and spun it into super chunky yarn. Which actually turned out to be more of a worsted weight, but y’know.

It’s rough and uneven and still a little sticky but it’s DONE. All six skeins. A total of almost 700 yards (686), which is enough for a smallish sweater. I won’t make a sweater probably because it’s pretty rough and there’s not enough for a serious waterproof outerwear sweater (which this yarn would be perfect for).

I have no idea what it will become. Maybe some day it’ll become a serious waterproof sweater jacket for a tiny person (read: child). It would have to be my own child though because of the sheer number of hours that went in to spinning this stuff. For the time being, it’ll just marinate in the stash and think about what it wants to be.

I spun this yarn woolen, and it actually did puff up a bit with washing. I suspect that if I wash it in some grease-fighting dish soap it’ll puff up even more. (As it is, I just dunked it in a bucket of warm water with some Euclan, swished it around a bit, then let it soak for an hour.) I have since started another spinning project (some soft beautiful merino that is nothing like this coarse mystery wool), and I spent so much time spinning woolen that when I went to spin the merino worsted, I forgot how. I’ve picked it back up again, no worries.

In life news: I did not get the position that opened up at work (I wasn’t even aware they had been taking applications, actually) and I haven’t heard back from my other prospect yet. Looks like I’m stuck at the reception desk for the time being. Which is okay, I guess. If Congress (sorry to get political here, kids) can grow up and stop acting like petulant kids, I can even buy health insurance (which I am currently without) on the market, fixing part of my dissatisfaction with my job (which is to say low pay and no benefits thanks to being a temp). And I’ll start looking again for a better, more permanent position that requires me to do work that doesn’t make me all anxious (which is to say writing or editing instead of answering phones).

Anyway. In fan news, I am still watching through SG1 because it is the best ever. I’m currently on season four, which is the best season, hands down. There’s very little filler, a couple of truly excellent episodes, and tons of Jack/Carter shipping (and you know I’m all about that). At AUSA a couple of weeks ago (did I mention I went to Anime USA? I can’t remember–I did and it was fun and I took zero photos) I bought an SG1 patch (like the team patch) and a SGC patch (the one with Earth and the stars and the symbol for Earth), so I’m going to look for a green jacket/shirt to sew those on to. Katsucon is in February and I’d like to cosplay as Sam Carter. My hair will be pretty long, but I think I can tie it back or wear a baseball cap and it’ll be okay. Her hair gets pretty long in the later seasons anyway.

In reading, Joe and I are STILL reading I, Jedi (I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s been literally months). Part of the problem is that there are a billion other things I want to do and part of the problem is that the first third of I, Jedi is really annoying. It is muchly a rehash of everything that happened in the Jedi Academy trilogy except with Corran thinking he’s so freakin’ special that everyone on Yavin 4 would be Sith meat without him there. It makes sense stylistically since it’s written in first problem and it’s been previously established that Corran’s biggest flaw is his arrogance, but still. In the passage we read the other day they finally beat the Big Bad (well, the one from Jedi Academy anyway), so hopefully things will be more interesting from here on out. Mara has been great though. I mentioned when we were reading the Thrawn books how much I adore Mara, and it hasn’t changed. She’s The Best and I Love Her.

Sorry for that last paragraph if you’re not a huge Star Wars nerd like I am. And if you are: I’m considering making a cross stitch with the Rebel crest and the words “I aim to misbehave”. Because everything’s better with multiple fandoms.