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It does, actually. I think this might be my last claim for a while (though not the last post–there’s this one and then what I got from the person that claimed me). I want to do some regular swaps and maybe even organize one. Or perhaps just get started on my Christmas knitting. Anyway.
I claimed lapoli for a cowl and acrylic yarn. Here’s what I came up with for the cowl:
(Modeled by my sister)
Pattern: A Noble Cowl, available as a free Ravelry download
Yarn: Almost a skein and a half of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (left over from Climbing Vines)
Needles: Knit Picks 16″ US 7/4.5 mm circ.
Modifications: Only cast on 105 (though that was still waaaay too big), only did two repeats of the pattern instead of 2.5.
I think this came out rather nicely, actually. It’s big but still warm and it can always be pinned with a shawl pin or something similar. And in any case, she loved the drape of it. Turns out she hates things that are tight around her neck. Win.
I also sent her a bunch of acrylic yarn that has been marinating in my stash:
Some Red Heart Super Saver, some Vanna’s Choice, and some unlabeled stuff. She said it’s perfect for her charity knitting. So hopefully it’ll keep someone warm and make someone happy–more than it was doing in my stash.
I’m still working on the baby sweater and the cami. They’re sort of slow-going (well, compared with my usual rate of progress), but hopefully I’ll get Colin’s sweater finished by the time his family gets here. It’s getting there. It’s a bottom-up raglan, and I’m almost at the sleeves. Exciting!
(Modeled by my sister. more pictures can be found on this project’s Ravelry Page.)
Pattern: None, really. I read over Cigar from Knitty, but glove construction is pretty simple. I used my basic mitten pattern for the base, then when I got to the fingers, I used four stitches from the hand for each finger, plus two that I cast on and three that I picked up from the previous finger (more or less). It’s the basic construction used in Cigar, but I did a bunch of things different and I never referred to the pattern.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool in Purple
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm dpn’s.
I like these a lot, actually. I called them Snowball Fight because they will be perfect for hurling snowballs (if it ever freakin’ snows) at school in Fredericksburg. I had mittens this past winter, but I think gloves will work better (plus they allow for laced fingers with that special someone). They fit quite well too. The gauge is pretty loose, but they’re wool so they should be plenty warm. I don’t find I have a lot of friction when I’m wearing gloves so they shouldn’t wear out too quickly either.
I’m not sure how much I like making gloves though. I much prefer mittens; I know that. Much faster to just go around and around. Knitting the individual fingers is a bit tedious. Regardless, I’m glad I made these because like I said, I think I’ll get a fair bit of use out of them come winter.
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl Evelyn Clark (free on Knitting Daily)
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, about a skein and a half in Huckleberry Heather
Needles: Knit Picks Options US 6/4 mm
Modifications: I only did 12 repeats of the bud lace pattern cause I got bored.
For my first major lace project in a fingering weight yarn, I’d say this went pretty smoothly. I messed up the lace a couple of times, but all in all, I’d say it came out well. The color is very pretty and though I don’t really have a HUGE need for shawls, I think I’ll wear it in the fall when it’s cool but not cold enough for a real scarf/cowl. Very pretty. Very drapey. Blocking is like magic. : )
The yarn is also lovely, and I will definitely be ordering from Knit Picks again, as I’ve said. Probably some lace weight. Possibly some chunky-weight wool for a sweater. *shrug* We’ll see.
COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU (meaning this one): Stuff from the Ongoing Wish Swap. Another (different swap). A knitted thing. Possibly some in-progress stuff. We shall see.
Pattern: Lelah from the Knitting for Booze Hags blog.
Yarn: Cascade Sierra, color 66 (they really ought to name them), about a skein and a half. Oh, and a little Lily Sugar and Cream, for the tie.
Needles: US 10.5/6.5 mm and US 9/5.5 mm Knit Picks Options circular
Modifications: Nine repeats of the lace pattern instead of 7, decreased rapidly over three rows so it would actually fit my bust, added ribbing to the top and left out the elastic.
I really love how this came out. It is actually a little bit long, but the fit is great and I think it’s really cute. I definitely think I will get a lot of wear out of it, and I think you should know by now my love and adoration of Cascade Sierra. It’s amazing yarn and I’ll probably make at least one more garment out of it by the end of the summer. Maybe another tank top.
Speaking of tank tops, I started another one, this time out of Caron Spa, an acrylic/bamboo blend that is really quite lovely. It’s a sport weight though, so the knitting is fairly slow going, plus I haven’t had nearly as much time to knit as I normally have.
Speaking of garments: For those of you playing along at home, here is where I am in my sweater-a-month challenge:
January: Corona/Talia (I did them both in January)
February: Burgandy (Cable Cardi from Knit Simple)
March: Spring Cardi (Hey Teach)/Lime
April: Lime/Superman
May: Climbing Vines
June: Lelah/Tank top yet to be finished
Which MEANS if I was aiming to complete 12 adult-sized garments in one calendar year, as is the goal of this Ravelry group, I would currently be good for 8/12 with number nine about two-thirds of the way there. Why yes, I do knit like a fiend. AND I have a fairly good idea of what I’m going to do for both ten and eleven AND I have the yarn already. One of them is completely weather inappropriate and the other will only sometimes be. And I haven’t decided which to do first.
Coming up soon: stuff from the Ongoing Wish Swap (my package), a cold weather thing, and that tank top. OH, and a shawl which I need to block when I get home. That’s coming up too. Stay tuned!
I finally got my second OWS package in the mail. Craftster user Lunanne claimed me for wool roving, a needlebook, and needle felting stuff:
I’m pretty thrilled to try needle felting and also to play with the wool. The shiny ones are wool and silk, which is doubly awesome and special. I think I’ll try spinning those. There’s not a lot, so I’m not sure what I could make with the yarn and I’m definitely not going to try it until I get better at spinning (which I haven’t done in a while). The other stuff (just wool) I’ll probably needle felt onto something. I don’t know yet. We’ll see. : )
(click to make bigger)
Pattern: Climbing Vines Pullover from the winter 2008 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Lake Ice Heather
Needles: US 6/4 mm and US 7/4.5 mm Knit Picks Options 24″ circular, also US 7 dpn’s.
Modifications: Knit in the round to the sleeves, sleeves done in the round, lead motif added to wrist of one of the sleeves, length probably added somewhere; I fiddled with the numbers a little.
I really like how this sweater came out. It fits me better than Elizabeth (much closer fit), and the leaves are really distinct and pretty. The sleeves are a little snug but not unwearable. I like it, and come winter I think I’ll wear it a lot.
About the yarn: I like it a lot. It’s quite soft and I am totally in love with this color. I love the subtle blue sections blending with the grey base… It’s lovely. And I love it. I think the yarn is a bit thin for a worsted weight, but it knit up well on the 7’s, so I’m not really complaining. My spit splice (well, I used water) resulted in a weird texture (kind of scraggly) so I’m not sure what the felted fabric would like, but with this sweater, I’m not really itching to find out.
Tomorrow: A swap package. Later: Another knitting FO, the tank top I referred to before. Stay tuned!
I came home from work today to a couple of packages. This is what was in one of them:
A pound of white wool roving for me to practice spinning on! I also recently ordered a couple of spindles, which should be here tomorrow-ish. I am extremely excited to add this new craft to my repertoire. : )
Also, it smells just like sheep and a farm, and I love it.
I also received another Craft my Wish package, but I don’t have pictures of that yet. Probably tomorrow.
So my mother is a frequent yard sale shopper. I occasionally like to go with her, but this morning I had to work so I did not go. Fortunately, my mother kept me in mind and picked up a gallon-sized ziplock bag of buttons! (It wasn’t full, but still.) Many of them were the extra buttons you get with clothes with buttons, and while most of them were boring two or four hole flat buttons, there were a couple of really cool shank buttons, brass with vaguely nautical themes:
But my favorite of all the buttons is this tiny little heart-shaped one:
So now my button box is almost full! Here’s a gratuitous shot off all of my buttons:
And now for some actual knitting content. I have two projects on the needles currently, because you know, I thought I’d just keep the project orgy going. Yeah. Anyway, I have a DROPS cable bag and the Climbing Vines Pullover from the winter IK. Both are slow going because they’re either cables/ribs or require me to follow a chart. I prefer to knit on the pullover because, as I am using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, it is lovely to knit on, and the pattern is challenging and interesting (even though I hate charts). I am knitting the bag because I really would like to have the bag, not so much because I enjoy knitting it. I am using Red Heart Super Saver because I wanted something cheap and easy to wash, though in retrospect, I should have just sucked it up and gotten some Plymouth Encore or something. *shrug* I’m slogging through it, bolstered by the fact that it’s really cute and I have adorable pink lining fabric.
More details on those will come later, when I get a little further into the construction. I mostly just wanted to show off my buttons. : )
So I’m officially home for the summer, which is less than great, but it does mean I have lots of time for knitting and blocking and sewing and other such crafting. Which means I’ve finally had time to finish and block and photograph the Superman sweater. And I looove it.
Specs:
Pattern: Button Me Up by Lauren Chau (I really like her patterns, actually).
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Yarn: About 2.5 skeins of Ella Rae Classic in red and a half a skein of Lion Wool in blue.
Modifications: Pretty much ignored the sleeve instructions and did what I wanted, ignored the striping pattern because a stripe across the boobs looks good on no one. Probably made it longer, cause I do that. Long torso. Made the ribbing shorter. Don’t need five inches of 2×2 rib on my stomach and also I hate knitting ribbing. Also, did the button band different (one button) mostly because I fail at reading directions and did it incorrectly, though I like my mod.
So, I’m totally in love with this sweater and it’s definitely my favorite sweater that I’ve made to date. It fits wonderfully, it was fun/quick to make, and I love the color scheme. I am a huge fan of this sweater. Unfortunately, it’s made of wool and it’s currently almost May, so that’s a bit of a bummer. It almost definitely won’t be cold enough to actually wear it for a couple of months. 
Maybe I’ll be able to wear it around the house. My bedroom is a good 10 degrees (at least) colder than the rest of the house, and I actually have a little air conditioner back there. Hmm… I’ll find an occasion to wear it. : )
The yarn is nice, but it’s a little itchy, so I would definitely wear a long sleeved shirt under it. It’s lovely though.
Also, one more picture:
Meet Elizabeth, the mannequin bust my mother picked up for me in Florida over spring break. The size is off, but since I’ll mostly use it for modeling FO’s (easier to take pictures of it than myself) it’ll be close enough.
Currently on the needles: Various swap things, a string bag (Everlasting Bagstopper, if you’re curious), and fixing to be either a cabled bag (I need to get yarn for it though) or Climbing Vines pullover. I also recently finished a shrug, pictures of which will be up shortly/whenever I get around to it. They’ll probably be on Elizabeth. Cause that is WAY more convenient. : )
So the Superman Sweater is finished… mostly. The knitting is all done and I even sewed on a button, but I seem to have lost the only tapestry needle I have at school, so unfortunately, I will either need to haul my ass down to Benjamin Franklin and buy some more (probably… Wednesday) or wait until I get home (May 2) to track down the pack I bought over winter break and promptly proceeded to lose in my pig sty of a bedroom before I’d even open the package. Win. So anyway, I haven’t woven in the ends of Superman and I probably won’t until at LEAST Wednesday and it also hasn’t been washed or blocked. That will happen… eventually. Also swap things are, as I’ve said, on hold until I get home because I lack the right supplies.
Also, finals are this upcoming week.
I only have three and they’re on Monday and Tuesday, so they’re not extremely stressful, but one of them kind of is because the professor giving it is a rather terrible teacher and I am still not entirely certain exactly what will be on the test.
Which, of course, means I need a simple, stress-free, but still pretty, knit to get me through finals:
I’ve been working on a simple triangle scarf of my own (admittedly very very simple) design. This is my first time using sport weight, so, you know, that’s tons of fun, but it’s on US 6/4 mm needles so it’s not too bad. And the yarn (Bernat Satin Sport in Seashore) is very pretty, even if it is acrylic. It’s quite soft and silky, so I imagine it will be lovely to wear on cooler spring/fall/summer days. Also, the colors are very pretty and just like the seashore. Ocean blue, sun shiny yellow, beige sand… I love it. All the pleasure of the beach without the grimy sand, sunburn, gross saltwater, and having to be in a bikini while creepy strange old men try to stare without my noticing. Ahem.
Speaking of acrylic yarn… I’ve gone of it a bit lately. Probably because I have more experience with better fibers. It’s still good for some things, but I find that on the whole, I much prefer plain wool. And you can certainly find wools for almost as cheap as acrylic, and wool is much better for the environment, on my hands, and it, like, breathes, which is more than I can say for acrylic. Acrylic yarn certainly still has its place in blankets that will need to be washed, toys that need to be indestructible, and learning new techniques. If I mess something up horribly in acrylic, no harm no foul, but if I screw it up in alpaca, well, that’s alpaca I don’t get to use for other things. : )
Stay tuned for the completion of this shawl/scarf. I have a feeling I’ll get a lot done on it, if only to keep me from lashing out at dorm mates who disregard quiet hours. Anyone got finals coming up?
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 