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Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your dad just didn’t like that much…
Note: This is actually yesterday’s topic (and yesterday’s is today) cause I accidentally mixed them up. Go with it.)
So, long-time readers of my blog may remember (vaguely, in the back of their minds) this sweater:
I started knitting it over a year ago (February 17 to be exact). I did finish the knitting (had to buy an extra ball of yarn, but, you know) but I left it in the car when I returned to school from Spring Break, so I couldn’t sew on the buttons. Then I lost it. And then I found it again! But I never gave it a proper FO post, so that’s what it’s getting today (but the pics are on Elizabeth (who you haven’t seen in a while!) cause it’s like, 85 out today and it’s a cabled sweater in acrylic).
Pattern: Woman’s Cardigan from the Fall 2006 Knit Simple
Yarn: Vanna’s Choice (just over 5 balls in Burgundy)
Needles: US 8/5mm
Mods: Lengthened ribbing in the sleeves as well as the sleeves themselves, left off the collar (picked up stitches for a garter neckline), and didn’t add buttons.
I can’t say that I’ve ever actually worn this sweater out, but I do like and it is comfortable. It’s a nice lounging around the house sweater. I mean, it’s nice, and I would wear it out, but I have lots of nicer sweaters. Plus, it’s a little bunchy under the armpits because of my sub-par seaming. But other than that, it fits well enough.
Sadly, this is the end of Knitting and Crochet Blog week! Tomorrow we return to regularly scheduled posts, including a new pattern! Stay tuned!
There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.
I have a number of yarns that I have used and loved (I’ve gushed about Cascade Sierra multiple times). I like basic wools and soft alpaca and pretty sock yarns. There’s a lot of yarns I like. I’m currently swapping for some Dream in Color Classy, a yarn that I like the look of but haven’t ever touched. I’m pretty happy to use yarns in my price range, and I do occasionally spring for a nicer yarn.
But there is one yarn (or I should say group of yarn) that I have coveted for ages. It’s not the yarn itself, per se, but the colors. Oh god, the colors.
I have a serious on Three Irish Girls. And not even the basic colors: I have a major crush on the Dye for Glory colors. Like this one:
I don’t even like pink. I certainly do not like orange. But oh lord, I want this yarn. I don’t believe I have ever coveted a yarn so much.
Can has?
Welcome to day one of Knitting and Crochet Blog week! If you missed it, there is more information about the event here. If you’re a member of Ravelry, there is also more information (and a list of participants!) on the group The Blog Hub. Every day this week, I’ll be writing a post on various aspects of knitting/crocheting. To search for other posts participating, search “knitcoblo1” in Google and similar. That will give you posts about today’s prompt:
How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?
When I was ten or eleven, my mother taught me to crochet. I say she taught me, but what I mean is that she showed me how to make a slip knot and how to pull the yarn through the loop to make a chain stitch. She couldn’t remember how to do the rest. Since all you can make with a chain stitch and a pre-teen set on creating is a bunch of shoe laces, she bought me a learn-to-crochet kit from Michael’s for Christmas. She bought my sister a learn-to-knit kit from the same company because although my sister expressed no interest in the craft, you can’t buy a gift for an 11-year-old without getting a similar or equivalent thing for her 9-year-old sister unless you want a screaming fit. It took several weeks to convince my sister that she should let me have her Christmas present, even though, of the two of us, I was the only one even vaguely interested in yarn, but in the end, I was successful.
I borrowed books from the library and taught myself the rest of the crochet stitches. I made myself a big stuffed pig out of stiff, scratchy Red Heart acrylic. I didn’t know how to embroider, so I never gave it eyes. I loved it for a little while, mostly out of pride that I finished crocheting it, but then I cast it off to the foot of my bed, where it got squashed between the foot of the bed and the mattress, with all of the other stuffed animals and blankets I didn’t want anymore but couldn’t get rid of (there’s a surprising amount of room down there).
Shortly after I won the learn-to-knit kit from my sister, I taught myself to cast on, knit, and bind off. I bought all the furry, fuzzy novelty yarn I could get my hands on and made garter stitch scarves for anyone who would take one from me (my best friend still wears the one I gave her for Christmas in tenth grade). It was several years later before I got the hang of the purl stitch and could make anything except big, fuzzy scarves.
When I started college (the August before last; I’m just finishing up my second year this week), I brought with me a collection of odd balls of cheap acrylic, all of the crochet hooks I owned, and several pairs of thick knitting needles. I mostly crocheted, I figured, and I wouldn’t need my entire 30-odd collection of yard sale and thrift store straight needles.
Oh, how wrong I was.
I joined Ravelry on August 27, 2008 (according to my profile page). The sudden access to what seemed like all of the knitting patterns on the Internet with the ability to search (and see thumbnails!) convinced me that A, I needed to learn to purl, and B, my collection of yarn and needles was sorely inadequate.
My first knitting project (with purls!) was the Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. Yes, the one in one size that’s rife with errors and curly curly fronts.
I had some black wool from the thrift store and some 5 mm needles. I did not make a gauge swatch and instead dove right in and tried my best to purl. It did not go so well. I didn’t get the hang of it until about two inches into the stockinette, so the back of the sweater looked like this:
Still, I was too stubborn to frog, so I plugged away at it. The yarn I had for the fronts of the sweater was a mess of short ends, which I tied together and knitted (I didn’t know about moths then but thankfully, none of my other stash has been affected by this stupidity). I finished the sweater, sans sleeves, which I didn’t have enough yarn for. I wore it exactly once. It fit, technically, but it was too short (the pattern, not my fault–it’s written to be quite short), and it didn’t stay put.
My first knitting project was a sweater, and since then, I have not been intimidated by patterns with techniques I don’t know. I dive fearlessly into lace, colorwork, and cables (which I taught myself to knit using a tutorial on my BlackBerry while I walked the mile and a half to the public library). I cast on with abandon, knowing I can conquer any difficult parts of the pattern so long as I try.
Most knitters I know learned to knit (and purl) with dishcloths or scarves or other rectangular items. I believe this makes them more easily intimidated by things like lace or colorwork. I say, dive right in. Knit something because you love it, not because you want to practice.
You can always frog it (or felt it, which is to eventually be the fate of my vest) later.
So, yes. OWS. I claimed Spotnik for a totebag and slippers for her husband. And they’re AWESOME. Cause I’m good like that.
Pattern: Garter/Rib Slippers
Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Blends
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: None? Made them bigger, I guess.
They are way too big on me and too big on my shoe size 8.5 boyfriend (who’s modeling), but that’s that’s to be expected seeing as the recipient’s feet are size 10.5. I think they came out well. They’re super fast and easy to make, and they look pretty good too. On feet, that is. They look very silly when they’re not on feet:
Yeah. Anyway, I also made a TOTALLY KICK ASS totebag:
Check out that hot hot reverse applique action:
The brown and blue fabrics are canvas I found at the thrift store for uber cheap, and the lining is an old sheet. I am running low on old sheet, so when I am home for the summer, I’ll have to get another one at the thrift store. Sheets really are perfect for lining stuff.
Soo, remember how I was resisting the urge to Navajo ply everything?
Well….
CMF SW Merino, clearly not being cable plied as intended.
GUYS. I finally finished Featherweight. I started this stupid thing in OCTOBER and I am usually mostly project monogamous.
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan, by Hannah Fetig
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool/Silk, about a quarter(ish) of a one-pound cone in Bottle Green I got in a Ravelry swap (for two skeins of Misti Alpaca Lace. I KNOW)
Needles: US 6/4 mm circ and dpns
Mods: Added length in the body and the sleeves; did the collar/edgings in garter stitch
Okay, so you can see the ladders in the sleeve where I switched dpns (and THAT stopped when I got smart and used a circular), and yeah, the collar is little funny, and YEAH, the sleeves are at a slightly awkward length, but guys?
THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING SWEATER EVER.
And I’m only partially saying that because it’s an entire cardigan knit in laceweight yarn.
But seriously, it’s soft and light and warm and totally perfect for casually throwing over a tank top when it starts to cool down in the evening. I’m so incredibly pleased that it’s done and I get to wear it.
If I lose it, though, I’ll probably have to off myself.
Anyway, the yarn. It’s wonderful. Soft and light and shiny (probably the silk) and definitely the nicest yarn I’ve ever used. There’s no way I could afford this if I had to actually buy it. It did bleed like a mother in the bath, but it stopped eventually (mostly). I currently have 3/4 of a pound of it left on the cone, and while I’ll probably keep about 600-800 yards for a nice shawl, I’m thinking about destashing the rest. Probably at whatever price WEBS currently has it at or slightly less since I really only paid about $20 for it ($17ish for the two skeins of Misti Alpaca Lace I traded for it and $2-3 to ship said alpaca to the person to whom I traded it).
If anyone on here is interested, let me know. I could be persuaded to sell in 4oz. lots, but not till I get home for the summer where I have a scale I can use to weigh it.
Anyway. GUYS. FEATHERWEIGHT. It’s DONE.
Yep, more OWS stuff. Which means more knits, I just sent them to someone else instead of wearing them myself. I claimed lapoli for wristwarmers and a soaker (and I’m sending tomorrow, so if you are her, don’t look til you receive). Here’s what I sent her:
Pattern: Eh, I made it up as I went.
Yarn: Wool-Ease, I guess Sprinkles since the colorway was called “Ivory Sprinkles”
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm dpns
These are pretty big on me as you can probably tell, but the yarn is REALLY SOFT, which I never would have guessed seeing as it’s mostly acrylic. But seriously. SO SOFT. My mother bought me two balls she spied at the Goodwill Outlet (so she paid about a quarter for the pair, probably). Anyway, the mitts are pretty big on me, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I have really small hands (which means I need to go back to my shark mittens pattern eventually and work out a larger size. Boo). Hopefully these will fit lapoli.
Pattern: Curly-Purly Soaker
Yarn: Grant’s Knitting Wool (more vintage stuff from the Thrift Store)
Needles: US 6,7,8/4, 4.5, 5 mm 16″ circs
Mods: None. I made the Small size as written.
Not that I would ever be the sort to cloth diaper my kids, but I think it’s kinda cute. I’ll definitely be making an effort to claim for these when they come up on OWS lists.
All right guys, I finally finished and sent my swap package for the Yarnie vs. Sewists swap on Craftster. My partner was MissDolly, and we decided to craft each other’s lists (we each had five items). Here is everything I made for MissDolly (and warning–the last one is probably NSFW).
Pattern: None, it’s a top-down hat.
Yarn: Grants Knitting Worsted, the vintage wool I’m slowly working through.
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
I like how this came out. It’s not overly complicated and the ears and a little crooked but it’s cute. And comfy.
Pattern: The Mary Jane Slippers I’ve made three pairs of now.
Hook: H8/5 mm
Yarn: Cascade 220 (grey) and Ella Rae Classic (blue)
Mods: None, I think. Crocheted as written.
Every time I make these, I like them more. One of these days I’ll make a pair for myself. In the mean time, I’ll continue making them for swap cause they’re SO FAST and they’re a great use of random wool or acrylic that I have lounging about in the stash. Also, great use for buttons I only have two of.
I did do something different for this pair though:
A while back, I picked up a couple of shelf liners/placemats (one of those things) at Goodwill. They’re kind of sticky, and I figured they’d be good for sewing to slipper bottoms so the slippers aren’t so dangerous and so they last longer (since pure wool crocheted loosely that gets stepped on a lot probably won’t last very long).
Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath, from Knitty
Yarn: Almost EXACTLY one skein of Knit Picks Comfy in Marlin (I had about three yards left)
Needles: US 6/4 mm Susan Bates dpns
Mods: None? Though next time I would do a little shaping and a different thumb. I hate afterthought thumbs.
I think these are cute. I REALLY love the cabled wrist, and I will definitely be working that into a future pair of fingerless (or fingered) mitts or gloves. It snugs up nicely and it’s quite pretty. I don’t especially care for the top (it flairs out a little) or, as I said, the lack of shaping (there’s not enough ribbing for that) and a regular mitten thumb (have I mentioned I dislike afterthought thumbs? Cause I do). I probably won’t make these for myself, but they were fun and fast to make for the swap, and I’m pleased I used up the last lingering ball of Comfy. (Now I have to order more.)
Pattern: My own; made it up as I went.
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride (in Kiwi), Lion Wool (in Purple), and some yarn from a thrift store sweater I frogged
Hook: Uh… G maybe? For amigurumi, I generally just use whatever hook I pull out first. I think I used a 3.75 mm hook.
Guys, I love this rabbit. LOVE. I was convinced it was going to come out horribly, and then I put it all together, and it’s AMAZING. I’m seriously considering making another for myself to sit on my desk and be cute and nerdy. His little glasses (scraps of jersey I glued on) are adorable. LOVE.
WARNING: This next one is NSFW or kids. Though you should expect this sort of thing from time to time since the name of my blog is “Adulterous Whores Club.” Just sayin’.
Pattern: Adult Lip Balm Cozy
Hook: Uh… 3.75 mm?
Yarn: Wool from a thrift store sweater.
Mods: Made adjustments for thicker yarn, stuffed it fully instead of leaving space for chapstick.
…Yeah. It was fun to make, and she wanted one, so I obliged. You know you want one too.
(Incidentally, these shoes are great for showing off socks–I got them for like $6 at a JC Penny outlet store.)
Pattern: Footies
Yarn: Premiere Serenity Sock (in Aquamarine)
Needles: US 1
Mods: I basically just threw the stitch pattern into my own toe-up sock.
So these are definitely my favorite hand-knit socks to date. The yarn is really soft and was great to knit (also CHEAP), the pattern is cute, and I lengthened the leg a lot more than usual for ankle socks as well as ribbed the back, resulting in a sock that actually FITS instead of slides down my heel when I walk. These STAY PUT and I am THRILLED about it. I also used a garter stitch heel this time, which I’m hoping will help with wear (though I’ve heard good things about the wear of the yarn on Ravelry).
Speaking of Ravelry and this yarn–there are a lot of mixed opinions. Some think it’s super splitty, some don’t. Some think it’s too thin, some are absolutely repulsed by the colors, and some think it’s great. I personally am a big fan of the yarn–really soft, not too splitty. I got it from Jo Ann’s while I was in Florida in December/January for something like $2.50 a ball. I bought three, but the next time I get to a Jo Ann’s (whenever that will be–there isn’t one in Virginia Beach and I don’t have a car at school), I’ll be picking up some more. The bamboo content does mean the socks stretch out a little with wear, though I suspect a run through the washer and dryer will tighten them right back up.
I’m definitely on a sock knitting kick, and I don’t have nearly enough sock yarn. I think I have enough for about five pairs (six if I knit two pairs of ankle socks out of my skein of Tofutsies instead of one regular size pair). I am planning at some point to order some sock yarn from Knit Picks (their new Stroll tonal looks soooo pretty), so that’ll help. Plus, I mean, I’ve got five pairs of socks to knit in the mean time. And I believe Michaels has at least one more color of Heart and Sole I haven’t tried yet.
In case you couldn’t tell, I am now officially a Sock Knitter.
Sooooo….. Remember how I said that besides swap stuff, I was just going to work on Featherweight because I wanted to just get the damn thing done? Well…
I’ve had a serious sock craving for the past several days, and I decided I would just give in. The yarn is Premiere’s Serenity Sock Weight in Aquamarine and the pattern is Footies (though I basically just threw the stitch pattern into my own toe-up sock). They’re coming along nicely, and I think they will be nice summer socks. Though I’ll probably wear them in the winter too, or at least in the fall.
I will finish Featherweight eventually, by the way. I’ve just decided it will be a long term project. Whenever I finish something and have no swaps on the schedule, I get a little anxious deciding what to knit next. Featherweight will be a nice go-to project so I’ll have something to knit while I decide what to cast on for next. Also, I’m making a resolve to knit a couple of rows on it at least once a week (preferably more). If I space it out with more interesting knits, I’ll feel less bored with it.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 