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Sooo my posts as of late have been mostly Finished Objects posts. But I have lots of time on my hands, so I do a lot of knitting. I kept meaning to write a WIP post for this sweater but then I finished other things, so I just posted about those instead. Anyway, I finished this top.
Pattern: Delphine from Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: Recycled 70/30 cotton/wool
Needles: US 4/3.75 KP options circ
Mods: Added a repeat or two to get a size between S and M, left out the split in the center front, and did the armhole picots in crochet.
So I’m pretty thrilled with this top. The fit is wonderful, it’s super cute and girly and will be perfect with skirts and over dresses. I love the ribbon and the neckline and the cap sleeves and the shaping and OH it is so cute.
The yarn I used, recycled from a short sleeved Old Navy tunic pullover, turned out to be perfect for this project. I didn’t swatch (I never do) and my gauge ended up being slightly bigger than the pattern, meaning the mods I made for fit worked out perfectly. Had I gotten gauge, it would have been a tic too small. The length is also exactly right, which is exciting since I have a long torso and most sweaters and written to be too short. But this one is just right!
This sweater is my seventh for the year, which means I am back on track for completing 12 for the year. I’m not sure that I will knit that many, but I do have the yarn and plans for at least six more sweaters. Not sure what I’ll start next (maybe more socks). I currently have a pair of thick hopefully thigh-high socks (I’m about mid-calf in them for a moment). But more on the socks later.
I finished my Great Gatsby Dress! It was a super fast knit (I think I finished it in about a a week), and I’m utterly thrilled with the finished object.
Also, I got about a foot of hair chopped off. It’s delightfully short and I donated about 10 inches to locks of love. Anyway, back to the knitting.
(The bottom’s not uneven, I just don’t stand straight and that bulge is the dress underneath, which is empire waisted)
Pattern: Great Gatsby Dress, from the Summer 2009 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Recycled Linen/Cotton blend, navajo plied and dyed with Dylon Dye
Needle: Mostly US 5/3.75 cause I couldn’t find my 6/4mm KP tips
Mods: Um, a lot. My gauge was like, waaay off (cause you know I don’t swatch), so I did as many repeats of the Fern Lace pattern to get the right width and then modified from there. Also, I left off the picot bind off and just did garter edges.
Like I said, I am so utterly delighted with this dress. I’d been searching for the right yarn in thrift shops for a while, knowing I’d have to recycle a large sweater to make the project affordable. It took some doing, but I finally found a lace-weight linen/cotton blend that was large enough. I frogged it, tripling the yarn as I wound it, and dyed it with about 3/4 a packet of Dylan dye. The dye job came out to the color wanted (dark grey) with some variation (but not enough to be obnoxious).
The pattern itself was pretty easy to follow for the most part, and I really like the effect picking up the skirt stitches on the wrong side has. The bodice was a little confusing, but that’s mostly because my stitch counts were way off. I just mirrored the armholes like the back, which I followed more closely to the pattern, and worked the neckline the way I’d make any scoop necked sweater. The effect: SUPER CUTE.
The only issue I have with the dress is that it’s a wee bit short, which means I have to wear something underneath it (I quite like it over this white dress, which is how I had planned to wear it). I could probably get away with just an underskirt as the top part is pretty opaque (though the stitching is pretty loose, so who knows). I was worried the bodice was going to be do tight, but I did some extra bust inscreases on the side, and it fits quite well.
Next on the knitting agenda is a reknit of my Leah vest. I frogged the longer version cause the shaping didn’t sit right and I plan to remake the shorter version so I can finish drafting the pattern and hopefully get it into testing this week. Cheers!
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.
Good news everyone! I’ve finally gotten through the testing/proofing stage of my most recent design, the Arrowhead Lace Shawl (and yes, I’m still working on Leah).
US $5.00
The Arrowhead Lace Shrug is the perfect layering piece for cool summer nights or over-air conditioned office buildings. The lace pattern will work with dressy and casual outfits and it stays on better than a shawl!
Sizes
Upper arm circumference of 10.5” (12.5, 14, 16, 18.5, 20) (Length is customized to fit) (Size shown is 10.5”)
Yarn
1 (2, 2, 2, 2) skeins Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks Naturally Dyed Merino Sock or approx. 380 (440, 480, 520, 580) yards fingering weight yarn
Needles
US 6/4 mm dpns or circular for Magic Loop
Notions
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker
4mm crochet hook (if desired)
Gauge
5 spi in Arrowhead lace, slightly stretched, row gauge not especially important.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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. : )
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 