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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.
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!
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.
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. : )
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.
So apparently I forgot to blog about this hat I made, which is sad because it’s totally awesome and I wear it all the time.
Pattern: Wind and Sea from “Knitting in the Sun” (preview on Amazon)
Yarn: Recycled Linen/Cotton blend
Needle: US 6/4mm
Mods: None, actually. I knit exactly as written.
Like I said, I completely adore this hat. It’s lightweight, blocks the sun and looks SUPER cute. It is really light so it tends to blow off of my head unless I hold it down if there’s a breeze, but I found that putting a stretchy headband (I have a Goody one) around my head over the hat keeps it in place (I didn’t figure that out until after the photoshooot).
The construction is quite interesting–it’s knit from the outside in and then millinery wire (or 18 gauge jewelry wire, which is what I used) is crocheted into the brim by sandwiching it in the channel of the crochet stitch. It was pretty awkward to do, but it basically blocks the hat for you, so I’ll take it.
I definitely love this hat, and I might make some more in different colors and also in thicker yarn. The yarn I used, a linen/cotton blend from a thrift store sweater, was thinner than the called-for worsted weight, so the spaces in the stitches are larger than they should be. I might try to make this again with kitchen cotton stripes since it knits up so fast (that way if the Sugar ‘N’ Cream doesn’t work and is too heavy I won’t be out a lot of time. I’m definitely going to try again though, perhaps in a thicker linen/cotton (or this yarn held double), but dyed a different color.
In other knitting news, I just finished the gusset of my most recent socks and am currently motoring down the foot. Good pictures are going to be difficult when I finish since it has literally been raining all week and will probably continue. I’m going to the zoo with Joe and a friend of ours on Monday though, so I hope the weather’s nice for that. I’d also like to get out to Lake Accotink before I leave (probably next Thursday, probably by train), but I’m not sure if the weather will cooperate. Though really what I need to do is buckle down and find a damn job so I can move up here permanently. Wish me luck (on the job thing and also the weather).
As promised, here is an FO post!
Pattern: They’re toe-up socks. Short-row heel.
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll, Shoreline Twist (blue and brown)
Needles: US 1
There isn’t a tremendous amount to say about these socks. They fit pretty well and used surprisingly little yarn–I have about 40g left over, which is enough to make an entire pair of anklets at least. This is possibly because I didn’t make them as tall as I could have, but there comes a point where I get tired of knitting the legs of socks and decide they’re done. This is why I should knit socks cuff down–In the beginning of the socks, my knitting mojo isn’t spent knitting the foot and I can knit plain round rows longer. Then there’s the heel (fun) and then the foot has to be so long so my foot fits in it–there’s no halfway.
So that’s my sock philosophy, so to speak. Plus I haven’t quite figured out the toe-up flap/gusset heel, which I think fits a lot better than the short row heel I put into toe-up socks. Clearly I need to make more of Wendy Johnson’s patterns, which are usually toe-up and include a flap heel.
I’ve just recently started another pair of plain socks, this time cuff-down. More on that later. And in case you were wondering, I’ve made it to DC and to my boyfriend’s and have successfully packed most of the things away in my house in Virginia Beach. Still have to find a job and an apartment so I can get the hell out of dodge, but I’m working on that. Sort of. : )
So I have finished up a couple of knitted things this week because, like I said, it’s dead week/senior week, so all the soon-to-be graduates are chilling on campus for a week before graduation, partying, sleeping in, and generally laying about. I have been knitting, my boyfriend Joe has been putting together a self-published album of his orchestral/piano compositions (he’s good; I promise) and together we’ve been watching Stargate: Atlantis on Netflix (which is delightful, by the way. We’re about halfway into season two and I LOVE IT).
Anyway, during the many episode of SGA we’ve been watching, I’ve gotten a lot of knitting done. Like the shorter version of my Leah vest.
Pattern: Leah, which I am currently working on writing up.
Yarn: Reynold’s Tiara, three skeins I’ve had as long as I’ve been crocheting (ie, a long damn time), probably from a yard sale or something.
Needles: US 6/4 mm
So guys? I TOTALLY LOVE THIS VEST. I really didn’t think I would care for the cropped version but OMG it is so cute. It looks great over blouses and I think it’ll look good over some dresses and t-shirts too. LOVE LOVE LOVE. The points came out exactly how I wanted (just under the bust) and the neckline is perfect. I originally tried to put in too many buttons/button holes but when I reduced them from five to three, it came out perfectly. Seriously LOVE.
Also the photo shoot was fun. My camera guy (Joe) is great and I love him.
As for the yarn: It was just a bit thinner than I would have liked. Ravelry says worsted, but it’s more like a dk. Anyway, it’s discontinued, so I won’t be recommending it for the pattern (probably I’ll just say a cotton or rayon blend worsted weight). Tiara is rayon and silk and the rayon was very splitty and the silk very pilly. The finished vest is quite pretty, but I wouldn’t recommend this yarn to anyone, especially if it’s been sitting on the bottom of your yarn bin for several years. It is a pretty color though and I did use up just about all of it, so it’s out of my stash.
I believe I mentioned before I was working on a cotton summer hat — I’ve finished that too and will have some details/pictures in the next post. Suffice it to say that it’s awesome and basically the best hat ever. That post will not be tomorrow as tonight is Cinco de Mayo and I will be drinking tequila. Yes.
So I finished a thing for OWS. I actually finished several things but like a dummy forgot to take pictures and this one I haven’t sent off yet (so if you’re Quaggy on Craftster, you should probably not look).
Anyway, I made a totebag, based off of this one on her wists. I tried to copy it at least in spirit, though I’m pretty pleased with what I came up with:
Pattern: I made it up as I went. Might put together a pattern. Might not. It’s pretty simple. Make hexagons. Sew them together. Make handle.
Yarn: Acrylic from an estate sale (which I suspect to be Red Heart Super Saver). The purple multi is Jo Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle, which I actually bought at Jo Ann’s a few years ago. Cause I’m classy.
Hook: (yep, this is crochet! Gasp!) I/9 5.5 mm. I crochet kind of loosely though.
So I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve got going on here. It was pretty quick to make (I made up a couple of hexagons per day in between other things and crocheted them together as I went). I haven’t made any large-scale crochet projects in a while (and I don’t usually, as I prefer knitting). It was nice to use different hand muscles, though I must admit I overdid it on a couple of days and make my hand sore. : /
I lightly steamed the body of the bag to make it less stiff, but the gauge is tight enough that I don’t think it needs a lining. I didn’t steam the handle because I wanted it to be stiffer/more sturdy, and I think I accomplished that.
I also finished another thing, knitted this time. I made a shorter version of my Leah vest to work out the shaping (and also cause I wanted it). I still have to take proper pictures of it, so I’ll leave that for another post. In the mean time, I’ve cast on for a hat with a nice big brim for shading my face from the sun.
Also, there’s that graduation thing happening on Saturday. You know, no big. : )
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 