You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘knitting’ tag.
Sooo since it’s been a little while, here’s a brief update for those wondering how Katsu went: We got a foot of snow Wednesday night, and it was COMPLETELY TERRIBLE. I had to dig my car out, and neither Joe nor I owns a snow shovel, so that was a mess. I had to use a plastic bowl. At least until one of my (super nice neighbors) lent me their shovel. Ugh. I did make it to Katsu on time though. I had a ton of fun, although some sleep/health issues prevented me from staying as long as I might have liked. But I didn’t get stranded, so that was good. I once again failed to take any pictures because I’m terrible like that, but one of these days, I’ll show off the parts of one of the cosplays I put together.
Today though, there’s a shawl. A big-ass shawl as part of my ongoing swap with AnnaMarie. Ravelry tells me I actually finished this shawl on February 2, almost a month ago. Needless to say, I’m a bit behind in my posting. Anyway.
Pattern: A Sensible Shawl from the fall 2012 Jane Austen Knits
Yarn: JulieSpins MCN 180 Aran, two skeins in Silver Sugarplum, two in Silver Cherry Blossom, and one in Cinder.
Needles: US 8/5mm
Mods: None, knit as written
Let me tell y’all, when I say I used five skeins of yarn, I mean I used EVERY INCH of five skeins of yarn. It took some careful finagling, but it worked out perfectly. The shawl is knit sideways, end to end, so I had to find the middle of the grey skein, knit the increases exactly to that point, and then begin decreases. It was a little hairy, especially at the end, when I mysteriously ran out of yarn and had to rip back a couple of inches at the cast on icord and tab and knit the beginning and the end simultaneously to get enough length. It was a process.
The FO came out really nice though. The yarn is SUPER squishy and dense and soft, so that helps. Plus it’s HUGE. It’s basically a blanket, which made it nice and toasty warm to knit on. Let’s be real–I’m not going to knit another one, probably. But I WANT ONE. Which means I might knit something similar. In a less nice yarn, probably, because my budget is such that lovely JulieSpins MCN is SO WAY OUT OF IT, but I do have some nice stuff.
I have something like six FOs to show off in the next couple of weeks. One of these days I swear I’ll catch up and post something other than a constant FO train. I promise. Well, I promise to try at any rate.
I made some mittens! Because apparently mittens (sharks or otherwise) is like 90% of what I knit. These are for AnnaMarie, as part of the ongoing swap saga.
Pattern: Northanger Abbey from the Fall 2012 Jane Austen Knits
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino 3/6, about half a skein in Capri
Needles: US 4/3.5mm
Mods: I went down in needle and yarn size since that’s what I had, and I basically just threw the chart onto my usual plain mitten pattern.
I actually bought the magazine this pattern is in–the physical pattern, ordered from Interweave. It was on sale for like $4, so obviously a bargain, but then shipping was like $6. FOR A MAGAZINE, UGH. I bought it anyway, since the digital download is like $15, so even with the shipping, the magazine was cheaper. And for two patterns I was DEFINITELY going to knit (this one, and a shawl I’ll show you next time), it was still worth it.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to take pictures of your own hands? Anyway, the mittens were super easy to make, and I think they came out pretty cute. And they were super fast (I mean, they’re mittens). I think I might knit some for myself–in the same yarn even, maybe, since I have a skein I got in payment for knitting the mittens.
I just love the way this yarn knit up. There’s a great depth of color, and the finished mittens are soft and pretty squishy. It’s a nice, round yarn, and I’m looking forward to working with it again.
In life news: This post was scheduled on Monday, so I don’t know what the weather’s doing. I’m still hoping for no snow. Fingers crossed, people.
Good news: I am all moved into my new place! (More about that on the bottom.) Bad news: It’s a gigantic mess still. Good news: IT’S MINE ALL MINE (well, also Joe’s since he lives there too). Bad news: My camera sd card and card reader appear to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Good news: I took these pictures of this sweater before I moved.
Pattern: Shalom Cardigan
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (about 3/4 of a skein) and recycled wool
Needles: US 9/5.5mm I think
Mods: Long sleeves, different color yoke and bottom band, different CO and sleeve numbers… I used the pattern as a guideline, basically.
Once again, I’m playing along with IntSweMoDo, wherein I try to knit 12 sweaters in a year (because definitely I need 12 more sweaters, but shhh). For those following along at home, this is my first sweater of 2014. It was cast on in the tail end of 2013 (December 30, according to Ravelry), but mostly I knit it in January of 2014.
The pictures aren’t modeled because it’s BLOODY COLD OUTSIDE. It fits a little differently on me since I’ve yet to adjust Elizabeth to my current office-job-having bad-food-eating not-exercise-doing weight, but you get the idea. It’s actually still pretty baggy on me, which was sort of the idea anyway, so it works. Unless I shuffle the neckline around, the end of the yoke tends to hit at the nipple line, so that’s a problem, but I can deal with it.
All in all, I’m pretty chuffed with it, and I’ve been wearing it quite a lot since I bound it off.
Now, more about the apartment: My stuff is all moved in and it’s even mostly organized, but there are still a bunch of bags and boxes of stuff that need to be put away. And a bunch of stuff I have to get that I didn’t know I was going to have to get (mostly because the thought never occurred, not that I thought the apartment would have them) like clothes hangers and cleaning solutions. I had to run out early on Sunday morning to buy a shower curtain cause I forgot that I would need one.
I fully intend to snap some pictures of my crafting corner once I get it all set up. I need to get at least one more bookshelf for yarn storage, but my mother has an extra one she might bring up this weekend. It’s a work in progress and there’s a ton of stuff left to do, but things are moving along. And most importantly I HAVE MY OWN KITCHEN. Excite.
HATS ARE SO FAST YOU GUYS. I probably whipped this up in a couple of hours:
Pattern: My own, which I’ll be publishing at some point hopefully
Yarn: Recycled tripled wool
Needles: US 8 16″ KP circular
Hats are so fast. They are even faster if you don’t cast on 20 more stitches and get all the way to the beginning of the decreases before realizing that’s not going to fit any head ever, including Andre the Giant, thus doing an amount of unnecessary knitting that would probably make another whole hat and a half.
Even with the ripping and reknitting, it still came out a little big. That actually works in my favor though, since the hat is for my brother, whose head is a big bigger than mine. It is a nice little beanie though. I wouldn’t wear it since I don’t really wear beanies (I prefer ear flaps or bonnets because they cover my ears properly), but it’s cute.
The goal is to write up the pattern as part of a collaboration that I don’t want to talk too much about yet (counting ones chickens and so forth). I might do a whole set (hat, cowl, mittens) since the amount of stitches I cast on originally would be a great width for a cowl, which I discovered after taking the needle out. It’s been ages since I’ve actually published a design, even though I make up patterns fairly regularly. So that’s happening.
Briefly in life news: Move is happening tomorrow! I’m ready in no way other than emotionally, but EXCITE.
Project Number One in the latest batch of things for AnnaMarie: Thrummed mittens!
Pattern: Thrummed Mittens, Stuffed Mittens … or Fluffies
Yarn: CorgiHillFarm hand dyed DK Polworth
Fiber: Falkland (I’m pretty sure it’s Ashland Bay)
Needle: US 6/4mm dpns
Mods: I used the pattern as more of a guideline. I increased after the ribbing (because I wanted the cuff to fit securely and with my gauge, there was no way 36 stitches was going to be big enough), I did my own thing for the thumb and the top decreases.
THEY’RE SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE.
It absolutely does not get cold enough here to justify making and wearing thrummed mittens for myself, but after making and trying on these ones, I am definitely making a pair. The Falkland makes them super soft inside and they’re hella warm, and I love them. I need them. NEED.
As mentioned above, I did some heavy modifying to the pattern. I mostly just used the thrumming chart, to be honest. I was a little disappointed the pattern did not contain instructions for making thrums, but I guess it calls for a commercial pencil roving, so you don’t really need one. I found this explanation by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee really helpful, though I think I made mind a bit longer as I was worried they would slip out of the knitting. All in all, though, the knitting and thrumming was super simple, and they kept me entertained the whole time I was working on them.
In life news: I am moving this Saturday, OMG. Signing the lease Friday afternoon. Y’all, I am SO, SO ready for this. Well, I’m not, I actually have a ton more packing to do plus I have to reserve a UHaul in order to move my bed/desks/bookshelves plus I have to buy internet (oh my god, cable companies are such a racket and internet is way more expensive than it should be). But still. It’s totally happening. EXCITE.
One of my goals for this year (besides eat less crap and maybe lose a couple pounds) is to be more consistent with blogging. I finish a lot of things, so it shouldn’t be a problem, and it’s not like I don’t have the time to write the posts. I just put it off, I guess. I’d like to be better about posting non-FO posts instead of just the parade of finished things when they come off the needles.
As such, here’s a finished object:
(Sorry the picture is sideways and crap; it was raining and I wanted to snap a couple of shots as quickly as possible)
Pattern: It’s a sock. Top down, flap and gusset heel, wedge toe
Yarn: Wild Hare Fiber Studio Hand Dyed Pinnacle Sock Yarn in Peacock Strut
Needles: Addi Sock Rockets, US 1. I love these needles, y’all.
These socks were, as usual, super simple to knit. They’re mostly mindless. The second sock was knit mostly in line for things (or while walking around) at Disney World this past Christmas. They came out a little too big (not sure why–my other 64 stitch socks fit okay; maybe I’ll go with 60 for plain socks next time) and a little short (that’s my own impatience), but on the whole, totally wearable.
Despite the fit issues, I really do like the socks. I ADORE the colors and the yarn was fabulous to work with. It’s pretty cottony (if that makes any sense), which is how I prefer my sock yarn. I bought the yarn a couple of years ago at a craft fair in Alexandria called Craftermath. It was definitely a splurge (I don’t usually buy indie hand dyed sock yarn), but it was totally worth it.
I have about 40g of the yarn left. It’ll probably (eventually) get turned into another pair of socks with contrasting ribbing, heels, and toes. Then I’ll have two pairs of super pretty socks. : )
In other crafting news: I know I said I wanted to post things other than FOs sometimes, but as it turns out, I’ve been making some quick things, so I actually have two more finished things to show off. By the end of the second post, I’ll probably have two more. (Look, worsted weight hats are really quick and so is weaving). Maybe I’ll throw in a WIP post for the sweater I’m working on. I’m sure you guys don’t mind the constant parade of pretty knits one bit, huh?
The final FO in this particular batch of things for AnnaMarie (for whom I knit everything and I don’t ever care cause I get to use the loveliest of yarns).
Pattern: Spatterdash from a recent Knitty
Yarn: Cephalopod Skinny Bugga in Flash Art Butterfly
Needles: US 1 KP fixed and a Kollage Square
Mods: None, knit as written
Now, you can probably tell by the above picture why this are only “kinda” an FO. They do not have buttons. AnnaMarie said she wanted to pick them out and would sew them on herself, so I just did the knitting. Which was totally fine by me. I don’t like sewing on buttons at the best of times, never mind when there’s a frillion of them. I’m cool just knitting.
The buttons are, by the way, the reason I probably won’t make these again for me. The knitting was fine if sometimes a little fiddly and okay, the method of doing feather and fan was different from what I’m used to, but in general, the knitting was perfectly lovely. But the buttons. I’m not sure I can handle sewing on all those buttons, much as I might want the finished object. If I did make these again, I would probably just sew the flap down and skip the whole business.
Anyway, it turns out I lied last time about the number of finished objects remaining (I forgot about some socks). I have two (probably three by the time this post goes up, let’s be honest here), so the FO train rolls on. And on.
Part two of my vacation knitting! These are also for AnnaMarie.
(The oh-so-willing model is my brother, whom I roped in to helping me with pictures)
Pattern: Endpaper Mitts
Yarn: Cephalopod Skinny Bugga in Punchinello Butterfly and Bronze Moth
Needles: US 2s or 3s; I can’t remember
Mods: None, knit as written
Y’all, this pattern gave me fits. I have made it before with great success (until I accidentally felted them in the washing machine), but this time… I don’t even know. I made a total of three mitts, each completely finished and ends woven in, and I almost made a fourth. The first one came out fine. A little snug but fine. The second one had an extra repeat before the thumb that I some how failed to notice. The third came out way too big, though strangely in line with the second minus the extra repeat. Apparently after I finished knitting the first mitt, my knitting loosened WAY UP. Like WAY UP. At the point I finished the third mitt, I was COMPLETELY OVER THEM and wanted to knit ANYTHING ELSE, but I figured if Anna-Marie wanted me to redo them or one of them, I would. Fortunately, she said it was fine, which is good because there might have been bloodshed at that point.
You can’t really tell the size difference when the mitts are on. You can kind of see it in the above picture, but I stretched the smaller one a bit to make them appear to be the same size in the pictures. But they are definitely different sizes. I had wanted to knit some colorwork mittens, but this experience is giving me pause. Not a tremendous amount of pause, mind, since you know I tend to just jump right in to craft things. But still, pause.
When I was knitting these, I kept thinking the colors reminded me of ketchup and mustard. Neither of which I eat, but the colors are distinct. The pattern is pretty subtle, but still nice.
I have one more FO to show off and by the time I get there on the blog (since I delay the posts when I have a bunch of things to show off at once), I’ll probably have finished a sweater (worsted weight; started a sleeve yesterday) or seventeen sharks (okay, I only have three open orders, but still). Oh, I also have a weaving thing I need to finish up and maybe post about. So I guess it’ll be two more FOs (well, one is still a WIP but the weaving is all done). And then maybe I’ll try to get back on a regular posting schedule.
Look, y’all. In my defense, I was out of town for two of the four weeks I didn’t post anything. Internet was spotty and time to post was even spottier (my mother, with whom I went on the trip, along with my younger brother, is sort of a nut about planning and doing things on our biannual trips to Florida to visit the grandparents). I did do a fair amount of knitting (what else are you going to do in an hour wait for Space Mountain?), which I can post over the next week or so. Today’s post is a shawl I finished on December 15 and apparently never got around posting about. Anyway.
Pattern: Catkin
Yarn: Cephalopod Skinny Bugga in Hermit Crab and Crown of Thorns Starfish
Needles: US 4/3.5 Knit Picks Options circular
Mods: None, knit as written
I made this for AnnaMarie as part of a swap. Ravelry tells me it took over a month to knit, but I’m sure I was working on other things besides. Although, to be fair, it does use almost two entire skeins of fingering weight yarn as it is (apparently) a square shawl with a neck hole in the middle. You can tell that it’s supposed to be square shaped by looking at people’s blocking pictures (or when you block the one you made, I guess). Maybe you can tell from the other pictures too, but spatial awareness and reasoning has never really been my strong suit.
I am highly doubtful I’ll knit this pattern again for myself, but it is quite lovely and I would like to have one. There are a whole host of two- or three-color shawls I’d like to have/make (Faberge, Catkin, Color Affection), but who knows when I would get to them. I certainly have plenty of shawls and scarves at the moment. (We won’t talk about how I just put up a WWFY post for a couple of big circular shawls.)
Catkin was pretty fun to make though. The different sections break it up so you never get bored, and once you get the hang of them, each section is pretty intuitive. Bugga, skinny or otherwise, was a delight to work with, as always. Such excellent colors that get in those yarns. And so soft.
If I ever do make one for myself, I’ll probably wear it delightfully sideways as in the picture above. It’s a little quirky, like me. I would like to knit another cape of some sort though as my other one gets plenty of wear. I’m pretty sure “cape” and “capelet” are just nicer ways of saying “poncho” for people who were scarred by the 70s, but that’s okay. They’re warm and comfortable and they stay where you bloody put them (I’m looking at you, shawls).
Let’s see. In fandom watching news, I have finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist (original and Brotherhood), and I’m pretty sure I never told you I’d started. I’m planning to do a sort of anime binge watch before Katsucon in February so I can get a lot more things. Previously I went to anime conventions cause they’re a fun excuse to dress up in costume (from any genre, really; I’ve seen cosplayers do everything from Anastasia to Star Trek to the Ancient Aliens guy) and be a big nerd in a group of big nerds. But I’m gonna watch some anime this go round so I get the full anime con experience. Next up on the list is Cowboy Bebop, which used to be on Cartoon Network all the time when I was in high school but I have never actually seen. Feel free to leave suggestions for others to add to the list. So far I’ve got Cowboy Bebop, Black Butler, Attack on Titan, and Inuyasha. And maybe Gundam Wing.
Anyway, in other news, I am still apartment hunting. I finally finished reading I Jedi, so Joe and I are going to move on to the Hand of Thrawn books soon. Oh, and you should all go check out the Harry Potter Medicinal Re-Read, wherein a bunch of people are re-reading the Harry Potter books and posting about their thoughts and feelings. My friend Kevin (of Made-of-Fail, for the curious) is a part, and I’ve done some editing for his posts. It’s a super fun project and a lovely, thought-provoking, and nostalgic read.
I made a scarf! I’m not really sure where I found the time to knit 400 yards between all the sharks and stuff for AnnaMarie, but I guess I managed it.
Pattern: None–it’s a triangle. I did use a garter tab cast on though
Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca, two skeins
Needles: US 10.5/6.5mm
Now, when I say I used two skeins, I mean I used two full skeins. I didn’t want any leftovers, so I kept a careful eye on how much I used. When I was winding the second skein, there was a break in the yarn that resulted in a second ball. I eyeballed it, decided it was probably enough for the yo row and garter border, and resolved to knit in pattern until I got there. As it turned out, that little ball was exactly the right amount. I had less than a yard of yarn left at the end.
As you might well imagine, two full 100g skeins makes for a good sized shawl. It’s kind of hard to tell in the picture, the wingspan is about five feet. It’s large enough to wrap around myself or tie like a shrug. I love it.
The yarn, incidentally, is fabulous. Super soft and warm. Fairly sheddy during the knitting process, but I’ve lived with cats (four cats, to be precise), so shedding doesn’t bother me at all. And it’s not as bad as the Plymouth Alpaca Primo I’ve worked with before. Ultra Alpaca is a bit out of my price range (seeing as my price range is about $25 for a sweater tops, which is usually just recycled yarn and the occasional Elann bag) and I think it’d be a bit warm for a sweater (at least where I live now), but I bet it would make a super hat. And it does make a lovely scarf/shawl).
Having cast this off, I have hella startitus and I want to make all the things, but I need to power through some shark mittens first. I’m grateful for the income, but still. I added it up the other day, and it turns out that I’ve knit 108 pairs of shark mittens since I started selling them. And that’s just sharks–there are also a couple of pairs of dinos that I’ve made. 108 pairs. That number just blows my mind.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 