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(sorry for the crappy pictures. It’s snowing, and February in Virginia is not shrug-modeling weather)
Pattern: Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug by Stephanie Japel (from Fitted Knits)
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: Moved the pfb to the RS. I’m not even sure why she doesn’t use regular raglan increases. Probably did shorter sleeves and whatnot.
So I’m a big fan of this shrug. It’s cute, it’s a neutral color, and it fits well. And Cascade 220 is pretty soft, so I can wear it comfortably next to skin (I mean, I have a high tolerance for itchy wool next to my skin, but still). I think I will get a lot of wear out of it. Also, this sweater makes number two for NaKniSweMo. 1/6 of the way done! Whoo!
As for the pattern: It’s pretty simple, and it’s easy and leads to a lovely finished object. I’ll almost definitely be making more in other colors. I also might adapt the pattern somewhat to make one in a lighter weight. Or maybe I’ll just use a different pattern.
In non-craft news, little Fredericksburg is apparently supposed to be hit with up to 30 inches of snow over the next couple of days, so don;t worry too much if you don’t hear from me for a bit. There’s a chance the power could go out, which I hope it doesn’t cause then we’ll have no heat, which would suck. This also means that my photos might suck for a while cause I’m not about to go outside in a little sweater or whatever when there’s two feet of snow on the ground.
In other crafty news, I’m doing some more swapping, including a sewing project that gave me hell, which I’ll tell you about probably Sunday or Monday or something. Stay tuned!
Pattern: Charade, a free download on Ravelry.
Yarn: Red Heart Heart and Sole, one skein in Rustica.
Needles: US 1 metal dpns
Mods: Worked toe-up and pretty much just used my own toe-up sock pattern and threw in the stitch pattern on top. Also, I probably have fewer stitches than the pattern. I went up to 60. Also, I used self-striping yarn cause it’s what I had, even though the pattern says not to use self-striping yarn. I’m a rebel, damn it.
The ankles of these are a little loose, as usual. I think I need more ribbing before I bind off. **shrug** I do like them though. They’re super cute and they stay on well enough.
I want to venture out in the world of sock knitting and make some that are a proper height. I like the short ones because when I’m done with the heel, I’m pretty much done, but I would like to have some taller socks. The problem with this, of course, is that taller socks require more yarn, and I’d have to get more than 50 grams. Maybe I will and maybe I won’t. In the mean time, I’m content making anklets. And like, other things.
Speaking of other things: I also finished the shrug I’d been working on and I started some felted slippers. But I’ll tell you more about that later. : )
Pattern: Girl Friday, from the most recent Fall Knitty.
Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton in Amethyst, almost four skeins.
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: Changed the lace pattern to omit the purl bits, did fewer sleeve increases, increased length.
So I’m completely in love with this sweater. Great color, great pattern. Warm. I LOVE the shawl collar. The sleeve caps came out a little short (my fault), but totally wearable. The sleeves are long enough and the body is long enough. LOVE. I will wear it all the time. Especially since the shawl collar will protect my neck when I flip it up.
So: Great sweater. I made the XS which resulted in sweater fronts that aren’t quite wide enough, but fortunately, I love how the sweater looks with an open front. My original plan was to do button loops and buttons, but I decided against it. I wear my cardigans open most of the time anyway.
I’m really glad I changed the lace pattern too. The purl bits made the lace look too arrow-like to me, so I just replaced them with knits. And now I have diamond-type things, and I love it.
The pattern is great though. Clear and easy to follow, and I love the extra-long sleeves. They’re actually perfect for me–I wear all of my sleeves rather long. The yarn is also quite lovely. I used Valley Yarns Northampton, which I got from WEBS. I think I used about 3.5 skeins. I obviously can’t comment on wear and tear or how it holds up over time, but it seems to be a pretty sturdy yarn. It’s definitely a lot… beefier than the Wool of the Andes or Cascade Eco I’d used in sweaters before. It’s a little heavy (though I think thinner than the 220 I’m using for another sweater currently).
Anyway, I will definitely be getting a ton of wear out of this sweater. I’m ridiculously thrilled with how it came out, and it looks pretty great on me, if I do say so myself (and I do).
Pattern: Toe up socks. Short row heel. And I threw some cables on the foot.
Yarn: Red Heart Heart and Sole, Watercolor Stripes
Needles: US 1
So I finished the cabled socks I was working on. Once I got the yarn, the second sock took like, two days to knit up. Win. They fit pretty well, though one is a lot more snug than the other. As for the yarn… I like Red Heart’s sock yarn. It’s cheap and it’s no-frills. What I don’t like about this particular batch is the colors. I dunno. I don’t like this colorway. It was really pretty in the skein but it looks kind of crappy knit up. Which is unfortunate, since I LOVE the Spring Stripes colorway (in a shawl I made) and the Toasted Almond colorway (the last socks I made). I’ll just avoid this one in the future. **shrug**
Anyway, I know I said after I finished the socks I’d go back to Girl Friday, but I joined another round of Ongoing Wish Swap over on Craftster, so I’ll be knitting some wristwarmers for that before I go back to the sweater. The mitts are super cute though, and I will definitely have pictures of them when they are finished. : ) Stay tuned!
So I had a couple of hours earlier this week that weren’t taken up by class or making up for a month of lost time with my friends and boyfriend. Instead of doing homework like I probably should have been doing, I spent some quality time with Leah, the Brother sewing machine I got for my birthday in December.
I have a minor obsession with zipper clutch-type bags, so that is what I made. First was a bag I had cut out the for months ago but had not assembled:
The fabric is cheapo fabric from Walmart that was originally a skirt I was going to make for myself (I had the panals cut out for literally six years). I decided that even if I were to make the skirt, it wouldn’t fit. So… I cut apart the panels and used them for other things. The lining is the same retired bedsheet that I use to line pretty much everything.
I also wanted to do a more decorative bag, so I pulled out a cotton fat quarter and my trusty lining sheet as well as some ribbon and buttons and got this:
I love the ribbon detail. I sewed it on first with the decorative stitch and managed to sew it on HELLA CROOKED. So I trimmed to try and even it out, but you can still see there’s a definite slant. Still pretty though.
I’m amazed how even the top and bottom straight stitches are. I also love the buttons, which I sewed on using the button foot of the machine (a feature that I LOVE):
Super cute. The first blue bag currently houses my sewing machine notions (spare feet and needles, pins, etc). The other is prettier, so I may end up using it for a clutch purse of some sort. In any case, I will definitely be making more of these, though I think I might have to get some more zippers.
Come up on blog: That sock. (I finally got more yarn and started the damn thing). Also, I’m in for another round of the Ongoing Wish Swap, so that’s happening. Also, progress on Girl Friday. I finished the back and fronts and will begin the sleeves once the sock and the OWS thing is done. Whoo.
As anyone who knows me will attest to, I have a serious love for baby knits. They’re small and quick, they don’t take much time and they’re SO CUTE. So when my friend Sarah told me her cousin was having a baby (the shower being this weekend) and asked if I would be interested in a commission from her for several baby things, I jumped at the chance. Also cause it meant I got to buy nice sock yarn. : )
So here’s what I came up with:
Pattern: Top Down Bonnet with Anime Character
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Needles: US 3/3.25 mm (or whatever the metric is)
Mods: I followed the size for the child using a smaller yarn and needles, hoping it would come out about baby sized. I think I accomplished that. I also, obviously, left off the face features.
Pattern: Mostly an amalgamation of various baby sock patterns. Mostly I made it up. No idea when they’ll fit the kid but I imagine they will at some point. Also, I did one cuff down (I started with a pattern) then did the other toe up, as I prefer. Both have a wedge toe and short row heel.
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Needles: US 1
Pattern: Steggie Bib
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Lime
Needles: US 6/4 mm, which made for a super squishy and wonderful seed stitch.
Mods: Changed the icord ties to crochet chain/single crochet because it was faster that the icord would have been.
I totally love this bib. The pattern was fun, it’s super cute, and the cotton-ease is SO wonderful and squishy on the 4mm needles.
Anyway, I hope the parents-to-be like the things I made for Sarah to give to her cousin. At the very least, they were lots of fun to make.
So I finished spinning the green BFL I got from lapoli in a recent OWS.
(Sorry for the crappy webcam shots… the camera pics DID NOT come out well at all.)
It was lots of fun to spin, though plying seemed to take forever, I only had a very tiny amount of singles left too. Going from hank to ball kind of sucked cause it was sticky and a little fuzzy, but the resulting yarn is great, though I’m not entirely sure what to knit with it yet. I thought cowl, but that wouldn’t use it all, and I kind of what something largish to show off the pretty colors. And the fact that my spinning has gotten much more even.
(Yes, I’m very silly.)
It’s a 2-ply sport weight (though in some spots it goes down to fingering or up to dk). I managed to get about 430 yards, so it’s enough for a substantial project. I’m beginning to think maybe lace tam or smallish shawl. If I use large needles, I can stretch the yardage even more.
I love how this yarn came out. : ) I can’t wait to start knitting it.
In non-crafty news, I am back at school, and I’m totally thrilled about it. Classes start today and while I’ve gotten a specific “NO KNITTING” from one of them (it was written ON THE SYLLABUS), but it’s fine in the other four classes I have(one I went to today and three with professors I had last semester who didn’t mind). So knitting will be happening. Currently, I’m working on some stuff for a friend. Her cousin is having a baby shower next weekend, and she asked me to knit some things for it. So I am. I am more than halfway done (I finished a hat and one sock and have another sock and a bib to knit still), so that should be happening soon. And then there’s that sweater, which needs sleeves, a good stern blocking and a button band/collar. Yay!
Pattern: Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm Knit Picks Options circ
Mods: Did stockinette lace but went down a needle size.
It’s very pretty, but as you may be able to see, it’s a bit too short to actually do anything. Plus, because the yarn is so soft and thin and the pattern is a bit too wide, it mostly just does this:
So I frogged it, and now it looks like this:
The pattern was great, though, super easy to follow, I would just need more pattern repeats so it’s long enough to wear properly. The yarn I used, Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace, is also great. Not really splitty, very soft, and great to work with. Definitely will use again (probably). It’s a great laceweight. : )
So, yeah. Frogged. It didn’t take that long and I knew I wasn’t going to wear it, so now I have a whole ball of alpaca lace. I’m thinking I’ll make Swallowtail again to replace the one I may or may not have lost (I can’t remember if I told you guys that or not–basically, I had it slung through my backpack strap and it fell out without my noticing). Oh, and by the way, frogging already-blocked alpaca lace sucks. It sucks a lot.
Sorry for the radio silence, people. I totally thought I scheduled this post for the first and apparently accidentally wrote the tenth. So… here’s the post. Also, I hope you’ll forgive me for not doing a 2009 wrap up post. I’m not really into wrap ups. Anyway, here’s some mitts:
Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in some shade of purple (lost the ballband) and “Fog”
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm and US 3/3.25 mm
Mods: Went up a needle size for the ribbing because I didn’t have any 0’s, and it’s a good thing I did since the cuff came out a bit snug anyway.
So… I fail at reading directions and managed to fuck up the thumb gusset on the first one of these , but I think they came out well regardless. I managed to not completely screw up the colorwork and my floats are loose enough that I can actually get the damn things onto my wrists. And they’re pretty. : ) Though, I have to say, I meant to make the medium (and use a US 2 needle) but for some reason read “3 mm” as “US 3” so I ended up using 3.25 mm needles, though I doubt that really made a huge difference.
Still, like I said, I like how they came out. : ) Very toasty and very comfortable.
Ahem. I claimed Claire313 for a slouchy hat + surprise. Here’s what I sent her:
Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret
Yarn: Grants Knitting Worsted (Vintage wool from a thrift store purchase) in Tangerine
Needles: US 8/5 mm and US 10/6 mm dpns.
And here’s the surprise I send, a little knit Totoro:
Pattern: None, really. I looked at the crochet version and knit from there.
Yarn: Some white Sugar ‘N’ Cream and random sport weight acrylic.
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 