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So remember that project I started after Counterpane that I was 80% through? Well it’s done now, natch. I have a lot of time. So yeah.
Pattern: Veyla from Whimsical Little Knits 2
Yarn: Recycled cashmere, navajo plied
Needles: US 3/3.25 mm dpns
In addition to being completely adorable and soft and warm and beautiful, these mitts were also extremely fast and fun to knit. The cuff is interesting and there isn’t much plain stockinette. Definitely kept my attention.
So I will have a lovely pair of mitts when the weather gets around to cooling. Especially if I have to commute on the Metro. You know, when I eventually get a job. Cause I need one. Anyway, pretty.
YOU GUYS YOU GUYS IT’S THAT TIME. Where I challenge myself to knit a sweater and apparently five other things in two weeks! Whoo! I hear there’s some sports or something happening, but NBC apparently doesn’t want me to actually see them seeing as I don’t have cable. (Bootleg online tv is another story, however. Don’t tell the ass hats at NBC. Or do. Whatever.)
ANYWAY I’m knitting a sweater. Well, a top at any rate. I’m knitting Counterpane out of some recycled linen/cotton in a GORGEOUS teal. Here’s where I was earlier (I have since knitted a fair bit more):
I’m knitting for Team Unravelers, where we are using recycled yarn. Whoo!
I also had to knit a Betta fish for an Etsy customer, so I guess I medaled in Toy Toss but I never actually got a picture of it before I put in in the mailbox this morning. I also had a impromptu Frogging Trampoline entry where I frogged my Lelah as it is too small. Plus side: Two skeins of my beloved Cascade Sierra to play with.
More sweater updates as they happen. I’m planning to see if I can squeeze some fingerless mitts in before the end.
Sooo I made sweater number seven for the year:
(I’m cool)
Pattern: Accidentally on Purpose Drop Stitch Tank from Stitch and Bitch Nation. Sort of.
Yarn: Lion Brand Incredible, exactly three skeins
Needles: US 10/6mm
Mods: All of them. Based on this version in Incredible.
I quite like how this top came out. It fits well and gives me SHAPES. Like, check out that hourglass action happening there.
Yeah. I knit this up really quickly (about two days). I intended to follow the pattern sort of, but I ended up just making it up as I went along. This resulted in a much higher neckline than intended, but I like it. Very racer back-shaped. Lovely. Have to wear a tank underneath because of the dropped stitches (which were super fun) but no matter.
Since completing this top, it’s been cast-on mania around here. I currently have seven WIPs, including two spinning projects. Also, the EFKA Ravelympics (Ravelenic WHATEVER FUCK YOU USOC) starts tomorrow, so that’ll be another thing cast on. Look for posts on that soon. I’m looking to complete a summer top (Counterpane to be exact), so we’ll see how that goes.
Greetings, blog folk! I am mostly settled in, though things are still kind of a mess. Anyway, I’ve finished up some socks. Some delightful Who-inspired socks. Whoo!
Pattern: TARDIS Socks
Yarn: Lion Brand Sock-Ease in Snowcone, overdyed by a WWFYer, recycled wool/nylon (white) and Sanguine Gryphon Bugga (black)
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Mods: I continued to reduce gusset stitches until I was at a 64st foot instead of 72.
You guys. These socks. SO MUCH FUN. There was colorwork, which I don’t usually do so that was good practice. There was a flap and gusset heel, which I love. There was leg patterning. And there was easy cruising down the foot. Also, the fit is PERFECT. I went down to 64 sts for the foot and it fits just right. The 72 st leg is wide enough to get over my heel despite some snug stranding but tight enough to stay up.
TARDIS socks = love, is what I’m saying.
I wasn’t too crazy about the yarn, mostly because Sock-Ease is on the thin side. The color was perfect though. The white is not superwash but considering there’s not that much of it, I think it’ll be okay to go through the washing machine.
I have since cast on for about four more projects, one of which is super fast and I am halfway through. Also yesterday (Saturday) I went to a fiber event. But more on that next time.
You guys, packing is stressful. I have to cull everything I own until I can fit it all in a minivan, and I have a lot of stuff. A LOT of stuff. Mostly yarn and clothes. I have four plastic bins and a cardboard box full of yarn, plus I have yarn or unravels-in-progress stuffed in every tiny nook and cranny of the rest of the bags and boxes and bins. Probably 80% of my stuff is either craft supplies or clothes, both of which are things I enjoy frequently and can get for very cheap. The other 20% is books. Maybe there’s 1% “other stuff”. Mostly clothes and books and craft supplies and books. I like books.
ANYWAY, I made a sweater. It looks like this:
(Do ignore my blurry arm meat there.)
Pattern: My own. Thinking about writing it up.
Yarn: Recycled mercerized cotton from a Ralph Lauren pullover (I have lots left)
Needles: US 3/2.75mm straights and a US 5/3.25 circular for the ruffles
Please appreciate that it is approximately five hundred degrees outside, into which I ventured to get pictures of this sweater. (The actual temperature is like 97 but at a certain point it all just feels HOT.) I jumped into the pool right after (I changed first) but still. HOT.
I really like knitting summer sweaters and tanks. They’re fast and I can wear them pretty much year round (though with a shirt under for the winter), unlike a sweater, which is really only good when it’s cold enough.
So I love this thing. I knit it in a strip like the Carousel socks from Knitty that I made a couple weeks ago. I do love the strip construction. It keeps my attention for the whole project so I never get bored like I do with things that are just long rows of stockinette.
In further life news, if I have no said exactly so yet, I will be moving to Fairfax on Tuesday. You might not hear from me for a little while after that while I settle in/job hunt. I’ll almost certainly be on Twitter frequently though, so feel free to drop me a line. I almost always respond on Twitter. I love Twitter.
Happy Independence Day, Americans! I’m safely back in Virginia Beach for the week and am knitting again. I only have two things on the needles and they happen to be red, white, and blue!
There’s the Roundabout sweater:
I’m just over the bust at this point so I’ll need to figure out how I want to do sleeves/straps.
Then there’s my TARDIS socks, which are half done:
I haven’t yet cast on for the second sock, so I guess these aren’t really OTN per se, but I’ll get the other one on there soon.
In life news: Much of this week will be spent packing. I’m hoping to have an actual moving date of Monday for when I’m going up to Northern Virginia to move in with my boyfriend. I’ll keep you posted on the job status but for right now, my only income is my Ravelry pattern store. I’ll start looking in depth when I get up there.
But today’s for drinking and knitting and fireworks and whatall. And watching Independence Day, natch.
I made a thing:
Pattern: Lacy Vines, a test knit. I’ll edit with a link when the pattern is up.
Yarn: Recycled wool, hand-dyed by me with Kool Aid
Needles: US 8/5mm
Mods: None, though I did use a provisional cast on.
It was supposed to be a scarf but mine came out rather wide and shortish so it’s more of a shawl. I really do like it. I like it (and you all) so much that I suffered 90 degree (F) temperatures to snap an action shot:
The pattern was super fun to knit and when it goes up, you should all go knit it. It works up super fast in heavy yarn and there are lots of dropped stitches, which is super fun. My yarn was really sticky so I had to tug the dropped stitches all the way down, but it’s lovely nonetheless.
This is a pattern that really benefits from a wet block. When I had finished one half (it’s knitted in two parts and seamed in the middle unless you cast on provisionally, which I did) I steam blocked it to see how it came out, and it’s definitely more open and airy after a good strong wet block than it was with a steam.
I am currently down to two projects on the needles (we won’t talk about the scarf in hibernation): a sweater, which is a design I’ve been showing you, and some TARDIS socks, about which I am totally thrilled.
And one final note about the Ravelympics kerfuffle. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know my opinions on the matter (and also that I’ve started watching STTNG). I’m knitting a sweater for the Ravelympics. Because that’s what it is and that’s what I’m calling it and the USOC can suck it. It’s a challenge for me and just because I didn’t sweat, I did train and it is an accomplishment.
The Ravelympics are in the spirit of international cooperation, something the USOC should know and care about it. When you piss off knitters, we band together, stronger, and speak out for ourselves. The Ravelympics is happening (though I’ll not be watching the Olympics after this PR disaster) and I, for one, will not be silenced.
Also, Twitter Knitters are fabulous. I love the community of knitters on the internet.
I finished my stripey socks today!
Pattern: Toe-up sock, wedge toe with a Crystal heel (which is basically a modified afterthought heel).
Yarn: Red Heart Heart and Sole (blue) and Knit Picks Stroll Multi, colorway Paisley (the pink/purple)
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm KP circular
I knit these socks over 56 stitches, which is what I usually use, but I think I ought to switch to 60. They fit but they’re a little difficult to get on over the heel.
These are socks and they are lovely but I don’t have a tremendous amount to say about them. The heel is very similar to an afterthought heel but I really like a flap-and-gusset heel the best. So for my next socks, which will be TARDIS socks, I’ll use a flap and gusset. As is my wont.
I’ve actually knitted up another scarf-like thing that was for a test knit. It was super fast so I’ll have pictures of that soon.
PS: New socks.
I currently have two things on the needles, both of which have made some progress since I last showed you them.
The vanilla socks:
I’m two stripes away from the heel on the second sock. I keep these in my purse at all times so they get worked on fairly regularly.
And the design I’m working on, tentatively called Roundabout:
I took this picture this afternoon and had since picked up stitches around the bottom to work a ruffle. Mostly to stop it from rolling up, which bugs me. So yeah.
I’ve also recently done some dyeing:
The skeins came from different sweaters but have similar compositions, wool/nylon blends, perfect for socks (that I’ll have to handwash). There’s a little bit of difference in the weight but I kind of want to do striped knee socks or some sort of two-color shawl.
I dyed the green in my crock pot and the purpley/rust colored one in a pot on the stovetop. I used a combination of Jacquard Acid Dyes and Kool Aid.
I did another two skeins too but I had to dip them a second time and they’re currently drying. I’ll have pictures of that later.
On a personal note, my younger brother is graduating from high school tomorrow. Allegedly. So, y’know, whoo or whatever. : )
So my boyfriend has a 13-year-old cousin who is, as is typical, really into guns. As sort of a joint design effort between him and his mother, they requested mittens that look like finger guns. Six months went by and he still really wanted them, so I went ahead and made them:
Pattern: None. I might write it up but it involves intarsia in the round.
Yarn: A recycled wool (tan) and a recycled wool/acrylic (black). I’d have liked to use acrylic for a teenaged boy but I didn’t have any in a flesh color.
Needles: US 6/4 mm
They were sort of a pain in the ass what with the intarsia and whatall, but I still think they came out pretty well. The triggers are only on one side but I knit the thumbs so each glove can go on either side. The trigger and trigger guard are just a bit of embroidery.
I might still add a band of orange around the tip of each finger/barrel (since these are clearly not actual firearms and law requires toy guns have that stripe) but I’m calling them done for now. I hope they fit. I think they should. I based the sizing on my own hand but made the fingers longer. So they should fit at some point.
In any case, it’ll probably be at least a couple of weeks before they make it to their recipient.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 