This is something new, trying to post a blog from my iPhone.
I would like to add a great big thank you to this post to my parents. They bought me a cell phone (a ridiculously nice cell phone) and put me on their because they wanted me to be able to call them from the hospital – where my father-in-law is currently residing. I never really got the whole cell phone thing, I can take it or leave it – but their generosity is unremitting.
So, I finished another pair of socks! Once again I’ve gone with Patons Kroy Sock Stripes , this time in Blue Striped Ragg. I love these socks, I mean I always love socks but these were just so much fun to watch knit up. Stripes are amazing, you think “one more color, one more color” and before you know it you have a sock! Same pattern (Knitmore Girls Vanilla Socks) same technique (magic loop) same amazing outcome (socks). 🙂
Instep time.
Stripes
Foot 🙂
Feet – and that is my ceiling 😉
So close to identical twins!
Oh look! My feet!
Oh Sarah, the things you have helped me accomplish! Sarah, and her #sockswithsarah KAL has made me a sock making monster – it’s amazing!
Next up, a pair for the hubby. I am going to to a little more shaping in the calf section, but other than that I am keeping to the formula I have fallen in love with. After his pair is finished though, I think it is time to jump into the unknown waters of toe-up socks, two at a time socks or Spiceman Socks. Who knows!
Okay, this feels a little too weird as a writing platform. Till next time friends and neighbors!
So far the B.A.D.D doesn’t seem so bad….hardy-har-har. However this is going to be very short, as I hate discussing things I haven’t finished yet. It seems a little redundant, but I am trying to recover my blogging ability – I miss you guys when I’m not on the site.
1. Fiori Autunalli – It has been successfully frogged and is not sitting in time out until I can look at it without breaking a sweat.
Bad Lace… or Bad Knitter…
2. Jayashiri Pullover – I have actually pulled this out of hibernation! I am slowly putting the mileage on it and all I need is another two inches to do the bust increases. Who knows? This very large (oh goodness it is soooo large) pullover may actually happen.
So those are the big to-do’s on my knitting list. Of course there are also leg warmers, but for the life of me I cannot post another picture of leg warmers. So until next time, which I hope is soon, have a great hump day!
In an attempt to slowly get caught back up on blogging my posts may be short. I know, I know – you’re just dying for me to ramble on incessantly about how amazing and interesting my life is but please, don’t cry! 😉
Where to start? Hmm…at the beginning I suppose, catching up on three weeks of knitting. If I go by my Flickr timeline then I need to start with (one) of my new pairs of socks! Thanks to Operation Sock Drawer and especially Knitting with Sarah’s #sockswithsarah KAL my sock drawer is almost presentable! This pair was once again Magic Looped, which is now officially my favorite way in the world to make socks. I used Patons Kroy Sock Yarn in the color way Singin’ the Blues – which is a great name for a pair of socks! I’m also sticking with my version of the Knitmore Girl’s Vanilla Sock Pattern. I know it’s time to try something new, but until my hubby gets a pair of socks on his feet I’m sticking with the happy-go-lucky sock pattern that makes me so … so happy!
Singin’ the Blues Socks
I am really getting the hang of this whole sock thing, so much so that this is my seventh pair since October. It used to be that turning the heel really slowed me down, but learning to knit backwards has saved my hands that awful back and forth motion. I used to cringe when I saw this on my needles….
Time for the (not so) dreaded instep shaping.
Now I just go merrily along my way. Next pair? Well (spoiler) they’re already done! But that is for another day. Remember – I am trying to recover from my B.A.D.D so give me a little time. Until then friends and neighbors, I am going to be chillin’ in my Singin’ the Blues Socks!
This is ridiculous, right? I mean I do actually have a life, two jobs, friends and family – but I double checked the numbers and they are correct. Thanks to Knitmeter.com I have mathematical proof that I have knit 2.53 miles/ 4451 yards/ 4070 meters. Yowzer boss.
Here is the most recent collection of things I have knit since 2014 began.
My Favorite Beanie
I decided to knit something I had already knitted once before, the Orchids and Fairy Lights beanie by Tiny Owl Knits. I bought this pattern ages ago (if you’ve read my blog before, this is the beanie that got me to quit complaining about my silly hand and start knitting again.) I know the pattern is for sale through Tiny Owl Knits, but I don’t think that it is in Stephanie Dosen’s book Woodland Knits – if I am wrong please correct me – although the book is equally amazing! I used Lions Brand Superwash Merino Cashmere (which I found at the infamous garage sale last year). I added another repeat this time to give it more stretch and frankly I am still in love with it.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
Another Design
Since I have been knitting leg warmers almost non-stop since the whole Polar Vortex shenanigans started, I thought my head was going to explode from looking at Red Heart Super Saver. So when I got an order for legwarmers and fingerless mitts I was itching to turn the cowl I “designed” into fingerless mittens. I took a design I didn’t like from 60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats*20 Scarves*20 Mittens in Cascade 220™ (60 Quick Knits Collection) and reworked it till it suited my needs – as well as my fancy-shamancy design aesthetic. 😉
I’ve read over and over that you only have to modify an original pattern by 25% for it to be called your own – since all I took from the original pattern was the mock cable I am calling it mine. As soon as I get to it – or when my main job allows outside internet access again – I will be putting it up for free on Ravelry. Side note: I kinda love it.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
Sock Yarn Beanie for the Loving, Patient, Wonderful, Supportive, Handsome Hubby 😉
This is my first sock yarn beanie, and I am in love! I knitted this is a white heat during the Polar Vortex/Level Two Snow Emergency that left me trapped at work. I used, of course, Patons Kroy Sock Yarn in Gray, Brown, Red Marl as well as Patons pattern. Sock yarn, even on a larger needle, is becoming the thing that my arthritic hand is falling in love with. I am not sure if it is the weight or less motion involved in the actual knitting, but I can knit almost with pain – which is wicked awesome. I love this beanie, and lets face it – the hubby needed another hat!
**** **** **** **** **** ****
And legwarmers 🙂
30″ of 1980’s goodness! 😉
So that catches me up on what I’ve been making since my last post. I have started several super awesome projects, things that I am really excited about and cannot wait to share. I actually finished three projects in one day, which meant the next day I casted on five more projects just to keep up – this makes sense right? Either way, I cannot wait to get far enough along in these that I can share them with a community of yarn lovers that I respect so much!
I will leave you with one question if you will allow me that friends and neighbors – if you had the money for the pattern, the yarn, the needles yada yada yada – what would it be?
It is pretty amazing that I finished my first pair of socks in October of last year. Now, working on my seventh pair, I am a true sock knitting convert. This is my newest addition to my ever-growing sock drawer – and maybe my favorite.
Rusty Stripes Socks by Patons Kroy Socks
There is something so utterly enjoyable about knitting a sock – since my first pair was officially finished I have never even remotely suffered from the dreaded “second sock syndrome”. There is this zen like state that is achieved by knitting socks, especially socks with stripes
When I am knitting a pair of socks with stripes I will often be heard muttering “just one more color!” and watching it grow is just mesmerizing in the best way possible. Knitting Sarah’s Socks with Sarah KAL (#sockswithsarah) has given me the perfect opportunity to indulge in selfishly knitting for myself and my loved ones. My Dad received his first pair and the hubby is already hinting – quite loudly – that he would love some socks. Before I move on, let’s enjoy a montage of sock-y goodness, just for giggles. 😉
Rusty Stripes Socks by Patons Kroy Socks
First pair of finished socks for 2014!
Bigger….
Big…
Finished!
My Dad’s First Sock.
They are almost perfect!
I turned the heel!
Magic Loop? Who, Me?
First Sock Done.
Just in case I couldn’t turn the heel with magic loop…
Sock 1 of 2.
Max and My Sock
Max loves knitted socks.
What a finished pair looks like. It smells like victory though!
Also, I’ve only used Patons Kroy Sock Yarn or Lions Brand Sock-Ease yarn so far. I really like the Patons yarn, but the Lions Brand just hasn’t grown on me. It’s gonna have to though, because after the pair of socks I casted on yesterday I am out of sock yarn except for two balls of the Sock-Ease. This isn’t really that scary, I don’t need to buy Malabrigo sock yarn and there is still Premier Sock Yarn (at a whopping $2.99 a ball) to try. I will keep my eyes out for sock yarn sales as well.
I am, at least as of right now, firm on my decision not to integrate patterns into my socks for two primary reasons: 1. I don’t have a cable needle that I can wield on sock yarn and 2. I like the brainless knitting. Socks are meditative, I think I might have mentioned that, but it is also fabulous for my hand. So what are my plans to not bore Sarah to death?
Afterthought Heel.
Fish Lip Heel
Toe Up Socks
Houdini Socks
Spiceman Socks
Two at a time socks
So there’s my plan friends and neighbors – now back to knitting!
After my last gloomy-gus post it is time to get back to track with the positive things in life. Also, this is far less annoying!
Let’s start with the kindness!
My birthday is two days after Christmas, and thus I rarely ever give a crap about it. We’re so burnt out after December – and the three family birthdays that come before mine – that by the time the 27th rolls around I just don’t care anymore. I’m not looking for sympathy, I just really don’t give a hoot about my birthday.
But this year I got two very unexpected presents from blogging/knitting/kindred-spirit buddies! I was gifted with patterns from my Ravelry Wishlist!!!! TEEHEE! I won’t mention names because I know one for sure wouldn’t want me to mention it, but it was the best birthday ever. You guys know who you are and I am so thankful that you thought of me – and I cannot wait to buy yarn to make your patterns come to life. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hogwarts Express by Susan Ashcroft
Daybreak by Stephen West
Now to the knitting!
Despite being silly busy with work and family I am actually getting quite a bit of knitting done. Let’s see….where to start…
The next is the Honey Cowl by Madelinetosh – which is also a free pattern on Ravelry. It was a knit-along that I found on Instagram, and since it was in my queue I took it as a sign. I made it with Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda. I made the largest version of this cowl and it took a whopping 630 yards, but the finished project is so soft and so warm that it was work every single stitch. Honestly, I think I will be making a lot of these for Christmas next year.
So Long!
So I like a good collage, so sue me!
The last is actually pretty boring. I made a generic pattern for leg warms meant specifically for being worn over your pants in this frigid weather. Well, word of mouth spread and now I have an order for five pairs. They’re made with Red Heart Supersaver and take about 260 yards a pair.
Yea for knitting and reading subtitles!
30″ of 1980’s goodness! 😉
I have so many things I want to get my hands on that it is killing me. For now I am going to work through some orders and plan for all the things I can do to get in trouble. I am curious though, what are you dying to get your hands on? Friends and neighbors I am just DYING to hear!!
Guess who showed up to work two hours early by accident? This kid! I am going to try to cram in a post while I have some real downtime, it’s actually pretty darn exciting! Okay, let’s get on with the good stuff.
I currently have two pairs of socks on the needles, one for myself and one for my Dad. I am working on my socks everyday – even if it is just a row or two. I find that knitting socks is my knitting happy place at the moment. Is it bad I want to finish my Dad’s socks just so I can work on my socks exclusively? I’m gonna go with no, it’ll help me sleep better at night.
After my husband spied my newly organized stash, he asked me a simple question; “Why do you only make one thing in each color when you have multiple balls?”. After I quit giggling from the multiple balls comment I couldn’t come up with a good answer. Does “I am so sick of that color when I am finished that I just have to get another” work?
Well, no. It really doesn’t.
So I took on the challenge of taking two balls (teehee) of Red Heart Soft in Berry – which has a whopping 256 yards per ball – and decided I was going to knit through both. I started with the Twisted Toque from 60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats, 20 Scarves, 20 Mittens. I liked the pattern; the errata was small, the hat was easy to make and virtually brainless, which is a plus these days. I will say that the length measurements given were a bit long though, so long that I ended up folding the brim just to make the hat work.
Another 4am FO.
Twisted Toque
The second project was from the same book, kinda. The pattern was Mock Cable Wristers and I hated this pattern. There is a vividly fierce hatred of how this pattern was written – so I changed it. I elongated the cuffs so they were 4″ and more of a gauntlet style, I changed the position of the thumb. I changed the purl increases, I added a thumb, I added length to create fingerless mitts, I did Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-On and Bind-Off. Basically, I stripped the pattern to the bare bolts and started over.
This took a full ball and about 20 yards of the second – leaving me to figure out what to do with the remaining 236 yards. I decided I wanted a long cowl to go with the revamped mitts. I wrote the pattern (which I will be making available for FREE on Ravelry just as soon as I get it done). I took the basic concept of the faux cables and just fiddled with the stitches. I wanted them to pop out at you a bit, and I wanted the cowl to be nice and wide and a little less dense than the cable on the mitts.
Ta-Da!
That took care of both balls (teehee). Now I am just so ready to get my finger on a new color that it is eating me alive!
Oh yeah – I finished the mitts from last week. Side note: that horrible join blocked out really nicely. I would have taken a picture but they were out the door and into someone else’s home very quickly.
That blocked out … seriously!
So that’s it for me today friends and neighbors. I have week 2 of my 52 weeks of new experiences all ready to go – I just need to find the time to write it. Who knows, maybe I can show up to work early again and get it hammered out. Happy Thursday blogger buddies!
Oh how my hubby had no idea what he was doing when he picked out his favorite pattern out of my newly acquired book. 60 Quick Knits was a Christmas present this year from my dad, his adorable opinion on knitting is that it all should be quick! I am actually really enjoying it so far, just remember to check Ravelry for errata – I have found a lot of entires that were just a little off. So this is the Cabled-Cuff Mitten Pattern, knitted with Patons Worsted Wool. So where did I learn something new this week? I learned (try not to gasp) how to read a chart!
~ You Couldn’t Read a Chart Before this Past Week? ~
Well, no. I have no problem following a chart in the round, at least in the past few months – but a chart knitted flat – akin to bamboo shards under my fingernails. I hated the idea that one symbol having two meanings, I just couldn’t understand why on earth they couldn’t just make a “knit as written” chart.
When they hubby pointed to the mittens that he liked the best, I saw that flat chart and cringed. I’m not gonna lie, the first 7 rounds were….difficult. I pushed through and by the end of the first repeat I finally understood the purpose. I was getting the hang of it after the second repeat and by the third I was gladly going left to right, right to left and realizing that there was a ligament reason for making a chart this way. Final thoughts – YEA FOR FINALLY BEING ABLE TO READ A CHART!
~ How About Some Finished Objects! ~
Christmas, birthdays, New Year’s …. blah blah blah…. has slowed my FO list down quite a bit. However, I still feel like sharing.
Smushed Together.
Blocking.
Close Up.
Thick and Folded.
It may not be super interesting to look at, but this is a custom order for a new customer. Her sister-in-law went to school in Jamaica where her school colors where purple and gold. I took one of my stitch dictionaries and found a way to combine a standard rib with a zig-zag. I know that it would show better on smaller needles and s solid color, but it actually turned out really well. I added a slip-stitch border to keep the sides nice and clean and she was very pleased. *Dramatically wiping my brow!*
Stocking number….8?
10 Dishcloths.
OSU Ruffle Scarf.
SInce WordPress isn’t letting me preview the post – and I cannot remember which order I put these in – please just roll with me.
The three (rather boring/ rather repetitive) things I have been commissioned to do this week is 20 dishcloth – 10 Christmas Colors and 10 Pink (these are not done yet).
Another Christmas Stocking – which is actually quite nice, but you’ve already seen a gazillion pictures of them. Sorry friends and neighbors.
AND of course, a few ruffles. I have an order for 5 OSU Buckeye Ruffle Scarves – all done *insert deep sigh of relief*
Yea Cables and Bobbles!
This is yet another concoction of the genius that is 60 Quick Knits – with some big changes on my part. The pattern is the Bobbles & Cables Cap by Suvi Simola and is a decent pattern. I changed the 1. The cast-on 2. The bobbles (which I made bigger) 3. The cable progression was continued another round 4. and I slightly felted the hat when I was finished (no pic of that yet…because I suck).
I made the hat larger and longer to felt the pattern because it does wonderful things to bobbles and finicky cables. It tightens everything up and gives is a delicious fit. I made the cap with Ella Rae Classic Superwash in Kiwi and chucked in into the dryer. The result? Pretty amazing – slight felting give the hat a denser feel and makes the bobbles seem more natural and less like a hanging hemorrhoid 😉
I need a Post-Felt Picture….bad Rachel.
Okay friends and neighbors, that’s all for me today. I will be back with more on my sock stashing, thanks to Knitting Sarah and her #sockswithsarah year-long Sock KAL. I am working the instep on my fourth pair of socks – pretty epic! I need to finish those mittens (yea for reading charts!) and I’ve unearthed my Fiori Autunnali and my Jayashri Pullover. Until next time – remember, if the gimp can try it you can too! 🙂
Oh socks….if only I could write an ode to just how much I have fallen in love with sock knitting. I’ve only knit three pairs in my knitting lifetime – all since October of last year. Still, there is something mesmerizing and just plain zen about knitting socks. I liked Knitting Sarah’s KAL idea so much I started last night!
They are almost perfect! – Pardon my superhero PJs.
I finished my third pair of socks in a white heat around 4am. The pattern is a weird mishmash of all sorts of free patterns I have found online and Clara Parkes’ The Knitter’s Book of Socks. They are almost perfect – they need to be about two rounds longer in the foot and four stitches shorter in the cuff and we’ll be good to go. I think that Patons sock yarn (this is Patons Jacquards in Aqua Jacquard) is a really nice yarn for the price as well. I love these socks….I want them to come out of the dryer before I go to work….here’s hoping.
And since I like to use photos to tell a story of knitting goodness – here is my pair of socks photogenic journey!
First sok on DPNs.
Sock 1 of 2.
Magic Loop? Who, Me?
Just in case I couldn’t turn the heel with magic loop…
I turned the heel!
They are almost perfect!
I feel a bit selfish knitting socks, because I am knitting socks for myself. I love my for my Etsy store and I love knitting for people – but sometimes working for hours and hours on something you hope someone will love can a little discouraging. When I am making socks I am tailoring them to fit me like a ….glove?…..sock glove?….I am knitting them to fit me. I don’t have to worry about the color, I picked the color – of course I love it! I don’t have to worry if there is a little snag because Max kneaded it – I can fix it and I am the only one wearing them. And of course the biggie….they’re mine 😉
Well, time for work friends and neighbors. Thank you so much for the KAL advice. Go see Knitting Sarah’s KAL page, it is very low-key and such a wonderful idea. Cannot wait to get back to you with some finished goodies! HAPPY JANUARY 2nd!
Howdy friends and neighbors, it seems a new year has begun and that means big plans to fill the next 365 days! Oh the plans I have, not resolutions so much as grand plans for all the things that I want to get into in the next 52 weeks. Let’s see the list shall we?
Find a year long KAL – any suggestions would be helpful by the way.
Join KALs to meet even more amazing online knitters
Finish a sweater
Finish that lace beaded lace shawl.
Find that perfect sock formula
Stash bust 50% of my stash
Actually spin things I want to share on the internet 😉
Try my hand at designing more intricate things
Try weaving – it looks like fun!
Keep all my social media up to date. aka Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr (my personal favorite), Tumblr and Instagram
But here is the one I am really, really excited for….
~ 52 Weeks of New Experiences! ~
I never make New Year’s Resolutions – they usually lead to disappointment. But this year I want to try something new, I want to try 1 new thing a week (or a total of 52 new things in a year). This can be knitting related or anything else my mind dreams up. Life is too short to not keep learn and trying new things. I already know what I want to do for week 1, which is really exciting!, but I am going to have to keep reading blogs, books, magazines and anything I can get my hands on to keep expanding as a person.
This is going to be a very full year indeed. So now I beg for your input friends and neighbors – what knitting are you doing this coming year? Heard of any good KALs? Seen something that tickles your fancy? Please share! I am here and sooo ready to listen!
Holy crap I almost blog-faded! I could make loads of excuses (and more than less likely will do just that :)) but as my dear Lottie from Lottie Knits would say “it’s time to get off my bum.” Oh! Also, it’s snowing – which greatly improves my mood!
Knitting Weather!
So, for anyone that is still reading this languishing blog, here is what has been going on the past few weeks to contribute to my blog-neglect (see? excuses already!)
– The Excuses –
No Dragon Speak Software – My NaNoWriMo gal has been plugging along so well with her novel that I told her just to keep it till it goes on sale on Black Friday.
My Mom retired – Yea!
I had an order for 43 ruffle scarves – this brings my year total to….wait for it….319.
I have gotten a boat load of questions from hospital workers since it snowed, and now have a nice little influx of non-ruffle knitting.
4 baby showers.
2 weddings.
My father-in-law has changed Alzheimer’s medication and is being treated for skin cancer 😦
My LYS asked me not to come in because they were afraid my hand would scare off new knitters.
– The LYS Experience –
Before I retell this story, if you follow me on Instagram you’ve already heard it, feel free to skip ahead (there’s a picture!). Also, I am going to keep this as short as possible – mainly because dredging it up makes me über cranky.
So back around the time I last posted my LYS owner called me to tell me knitting was canceled. No big deal. The week after that I called the shop to see if we were meeting that night and had the oddest reaction from a gal I’ve known for years. She told me _______ would call me back. About 20 minutes later ________ called me back and asked me not to come to knitting that night; they were having a meet-and-greet for new potential knitters (in a younger crowd than our knitting group (even though I am 28)) and she didn’t want my hand to scare them off.
My reaction was to go get on Instagram and connect with knitters who, in my mind, would be able to be objective because they’ve never seen my hand.
I. Was. Heartbroken.
The support from knitter’s on Instagram was so overwhelmingly awesome that I should have just snapped out of it. So what? I don’t have an LYS anymore…..
Nope, not going to work.
Instead of feeling the love from the 99.9% of knitter’s who are freaking amazing, I ran down the rabbit hole of knitting all the time to prove that I could do it. This is a fun mixture of stubbornness, OCD, and my very own Panic Monster. I have been eating, sleeping and knitting….and not a whole lot else. I have kept all my social obligations and haven’t become a hermit yet but saying I got a little obsessive would be putting it….lightly.
– The Fresh Start –
So here I am friends and neighbors, ready to get back to what makes me happy. I love writing and I love reading your blogs. Both of these things have been severely neglected. So there will be some catching up to do (lots of catching up to do) so please be patient. I am slowly going to try to work the comments and questions that I’ve received – especially regarding patterns – but it may take a little longer than normal.
Also, I follow loads of you on Facebook – I haven’t “liked” or commented on your blogs because my Facebook account and my WordPress account aren’t linked – but I have been reading your work. Rob’s Surf Report and A Tangled Yarn are just two that I read every single time they post. The Knitterly Hook-er is one of my favs to follow on Instagram. If you want to follow me on either of these sites click → FACEBOOK LINK ← or → INSTAGRAM LINK ←. Both of these sites get updated daily because I can use one hand to upload and type.
– SPOILERS!! –
Stick with me and I promise I will try to give you something awesome to read or stare at – as awesome as I can make it! Here is a itty-bitty preview of what I’ve got up my sleeve:
Second Pair of Socks – I never photographed the finished pair.
My Hat…No Sharing.
This took three and a half hours to type friends and neighbors, every minute both cathartic and totally renewing. I can’t wait to catch up, happy Tuesday!
I was able to pick up my needles this week but quickly realized that I was going to have to find a sweet spot to appease both of my hands. This gave me the best excuse to cast on several projects, I mean, I have to keep my hands happy!
I have found that different types of needles, different needle sizes and different types of yarn are the best way to keep my hands from feeling any fatigue – also, I never get bored working on one project. Pretty awesome in my book, maybe this whole arthritis thing isn’t so bad after all! 😉 So here is my WIP run down:
What a finished pair looks like. It smells like victory though!
I casted on another pair of these immediately after I finished the first, I am only on the ribbing so no picture yet, but they are fantastic to knit and easy on both hands.
What it looks like finished – photo courtesy of teresat2 on Flickr
This pattern is from the Craftsy Class New Directions in Lace. It is an incredible early Christmas present from my Mom – and there are beads! I am still a bit daunted by how much work it is going to take to finish this beast, but it’s just so pretty I don’t care. Romi Hill creates the most beautiful work and her class is so full of information I’m surprised it didn’t cost more. If you like lace, like learning, want to try something new and work with a stellar pattern – go sign up for this class.
This is where I am in the pattern:
Yes. I am scared to take off the belly button cast on.
This is the kalallnight that Stacy over at Musings and Motion and I are making. The pattern is available from Knit Picks and if you still feel the urge to join feel free! I have a feeling that Stacy will finish way before I do and I wouldn’t mind the company! Here is where I am so far:
Size 7US Circular and DPN – Worsted Weight – “Hat on the Brain”
My design – another cabled beanie.
I have gone on a mini design kick trying to make a bunch of different beanies. I am trying to have a very styled brim (usually combinations of stitch dictionaries) and working my way through a list of hat decreases. I just finished the one last night, the rusty orange beanie above ↑ so I will need to cast on another one today.
Here is a super fun cowl by Kirsten Johnstone that I just had to cast on – despite the fact that straight needles make both my hands hurt and the pinkie on my right hand usually gets rubbed raw ( you know, since it just lays there and doesn’t move…man…that sounds super dirty ;)). Anyway, I had to give it a go and here is the progress:
Total length needs to be 44″ – still a bit to go.
Oh! For fun, here is Lucy Neatby showing the coolest provisional cast on I have ever done.
This was another attempt to create something out of my own noggin….and some stitch dictionaries. I am trying to combine different variations on eyelet patterns so it looks swirled. I started it before I hurt my left hand so I can only work on it maybe 20 minutes a day. The color is beautiful though so I don’t mind looking at it everyday.
So Far…
So that’s the low down on my WIPs for Wednesday. I hope you’ve enjoyed my ranting and hopefully I have given you an excellent excuse to cast on more projects – you must think of the health of your hands!
So friends and neighbors I am interested to hear, if you would like to share, how you combat both boredom and hand fatigue. I was once a fairly monogamous knitter (no more that three projects going at a time) so this is all new to me. Feel free to share – I love to listen!
So despite the rather poor photo quality (I like browns in my house, obviously) the Jayashri Pullover is coming along quite nicely! I finished the decreases and now it is on to either six or seven inches of straight body work.
This should be the easiest part of the sweater, just mindless knitting in the round allowing some length to accumulate. I am a little worried about the bust increases, it is something I have never done and I have a rather ample bust. For now though I am just going to enjoy some straight up mindless knitting.
I am worried about the time factor this week, because this week looks insane! I have loads of ruffles that need done and two adult female from my Etsy store to do. I also have to go to work, feed myself and my husband (and the cat if he is good) and sleep. I’ve been keeping a pretty good pace and I suppose that one good day would keep me going, I just haven’t figured out where to put that yet.
Hopefully there will be nothing but good news next week and lots of extra stitches to take pictures of. Maybe, if I’m good, I will even remember to take the picture against a lighter background. Who knows? 😉
Not much to look at yet friends and neighbors, but it’s getting there. What I am wondering is how do you not get in a garment making rut? Is the seemingly endless amount of stitches like second sock syndrome? And most importantly, does working on a long-term goal make you have a serious case of startitis (thank you Knitmore Girls), because I have a million things I am dying to cast on in my Ravelry queue right now!
Hope you all have lovely days filled with good food, good friends and error free projects!
So the progress on the Jayashri Sweater continues, very slowly. It’s been a really busy week; several custom orders have come into the shop (yea!), along with several (28 – yes, twenty-eight) ruffle scarf orders. If you don’t take into account having 1) a job 2) a husband and loving niece and 3) social life, well then I guess I would have my pullover finished by now.
Wanna see some progress? Because I really want to share!
I am still keeping a very vigilant count of all the stitches that go into this wonderful pullover, it appeases my OCD as well as my genuine curiosity about how the garment is coming together. I am getting to the decreases that are written in the pattern for the waist, decreases aren’t a problem and I can see (both on the picture of the sweater and in my head) about how this supposed to turn out. It is the short rows and increases for the bust ( of which mine is….ample) that I am a little worried about. I am watching the Short Rows Class on Craftsy to get a better understanding of how these stitches are worked and it has done wonders to bolster my confidence. Of course I am saying this before I’ve actually worked a single row. 🙂
It is a bit daunting to put your first attempt at anything on the internet – especially when you spend every minute of your spare time seeing other bloggers amazing, flawless work. Perhaps it will be a way to motivate me to spend the extra time to learn the construction of a garment – I mean, who wants to fall flat on their face in front of such amazing talent? Either way it goes I am just remembering to breath and enjoy the knitting.
So friends and neighbors it’s question time! What was your first handmade garment? Did it end with smiles or tears? Is there any advice you would wish to share?
As always, it is a pleasure to blog with such great company! ♥
I wish that I had more to show you, almost as much as I wished I had more time to make a sweater for myself! It has been pretty busy in my knitting world, what with the (super awesome) custom order that I am working on. That and a husband, work, friends and a life without my needles – who knew! 😉
So far on my sweater all I have done is the gartered ribbing, oh the shame! It seems a little amazing to me that just the edging has a whopping 5,024 stitches to it. I knew I was making a very baggy sweater but still, that seems insane to me. So now it is going to be my goal to keep an accurate count of exactly how many stitches are going into this sweater. I think it would be really clever to look back on – which is why I used the Polaroid picture setup for all the pictures.
So now I am back at Craftsy, trying to figure out shaping, decreasing, short rows and sizing. Feeling a little adventurous looking at all this information – although I doubt that I will vary from the original pattern. However it turns out I am still having a blast.
Remember friends and neighbors that there is still time to join us in this KAL. There is no end date and no pressure!
My needles have been all but aching to get going on this project, now they are feeling a bit daunted because I casted on 314 stitches to being my Jayashri Sweater tonight. I have always felt far more comfortable in baggy knits than tight-fitting ones but this seems insane! I knew when I picked this pattern from all the wonderful ideas that Stacy over at Musings and Motion suggested that it would be an endeavor, but staring at my cast-on edge is making me wilt with fright! What if I am the last one to finish just because I wanted a sweater that wouldn’t make my chest look like a porn stars?
Honestly, I don’t really care all that much. If I knitted the sweater to be form-fitting I would never feel truly comfortable in it. As it is, with the sizing chart I am following, I can picture myself in this sweater all the time. Actually – I imagine myself (in aforementioned sweater) reading a book and drinking tea in front of a fire. In my first pair of knitted socks as well, might as well round out the fantasy. 🙂
Now that I’ve casted on I am itching to get back to it. Before I do that though I am going over to → THIS LINK ← to visit Stacy at Musings and Motion and see if I can’t win a free pattern. Spoiler Alert: The people hosting the KAL never win, but I like to be a good little participant. After my little trip it is back to the needles, or perhaps to visit some of my neglected blog reading. Who knows? The night is mine friends and neighbors!
Post! Your dirty minds should have seen that coming a mile away! 😉
I cannot believe I have somehow managed to neglect my blog for a week and a half – it this blog was a child the state would be involved. There was drama but frankly I am just not in the mood to dissect all of it at the moment (or ever). Not to mention the fact that whenever I go near my computer I am bombarded with all the things that need to be done of the silly machine like:
Making new business cards.
Making care instructions for all the new knits.
Updating my Ravelry page.
Updating my Etsy page.
Replying to a million emails I would rather avoid (the ones I want to respond to I try to do in a more timely fashion).
and of course…Updating my blog.
It’s been a bit of a struggle since I’ve been on a ruffle scarf binge again. I wanted to be able to buy a pair of needles for the Katniss Cowl. I got the needles but managed to much up the pattern so badly that I am seriously considering just doing it all over again – I owe it to my niece and more importantly I owe it to Lolly over at Lolly Knits. Silly genius made me a perfect pattern and I’ve mucked it up.
Let’s talk about what the hell I’ve been up to – if you’d like to, of course.
** BOOKS **
I read Delirium to see if it would be something Gloria would be interested in, since I have heard such wonderful things about Before I Fall. The whole romance thing is something she wouldn’t be interested in and I found it a bit lacking, especially since reading quite a bit of really good YA fiction. If this can count as a review here it is – this book is the first in a trilogy and I haven’t bought any of the other books yet. Enough said.
The End of Your Life Book Club was…Amazing. It is one of those that after you finish reading you almost cannot start a new book, it feels too close to cheating. I love this book, and if you are a lover of books, reading, family and life then seriously go find a copy.
I am so glad I am almost done with The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club – it’s bloody awful! Set outside of London the completely formulaic story may not have sucked that bad if the author would capitalize ever-single-solitary word she wants to emphasize. Every time I saw something Capitalized it took me right out of the story.
** MUSIC **
Imagine Dragons
Florence and the Machine
Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde
Elliott Smith
I could try to explain why I love this music but eh, I just wanna share what I’ve been listening to. Here is Imagine Dragons Radioactive though, the music video is painfully stupid but if you just listen to the song it’s all good!
** KNITTING AWARDS **
The Versatile Blogger
One Lovely Blog Award.
The Wordpress Family Award.
The Liebster Award.
The lovely bloggers who’ve nominated me for these wonderful awards deserve a proper “Thank You” shout out, which I will put in the Award section on the upper part of my blog. But if I blog it here their blogs might get read twice!
Go check out some amazing blogs and keep posted for their long overdue tributes on the Awards section of the blog.
** KNITTING **
The Reversible Cabled Scarf was a stash-buster which made me so utterly happy that I made two. I found it on Ravelry originally, but when I went to find the link it’s gone. I remember it was free though so if you have an interest lemme know.
The Herringbone Stitch cowl is made with the same roving yarn was the cabled scarves, in honor of Lolly and her Katniss Cowl pattern. Plus, I wanted the yarn out of my stash.
The cowl was a purchased pattern from my LYS and it turned out amazing! And yes, I did find another WIP in the bottom of my bag – it’s like Mary Poppins’ freaking knitting bag!
The baby hat was from Itty-Bitty Knits with a few alterations on my part, when the I-cord is place I will get a proper picture. I am pretty sure it is going to be adorable.
** THE END CREDITS **
If you’ve made it through my ramblings good for you because I don’t think I could! I can’t wait to get down and dirty with the Knit Along details, get some more knitting under my belt and do Lolly some justice with that cowl. You know, if I didn’t have a full-time job I could get a lot more done! 😉 Well Friends and Neighbors, hope all is well, cannot wait to catch up with all of you and hope to hear from you soon!
This is the scolding look I get from Max when I don’t blog enough. Scary, isn’t it?
So I have finally decided to go ahead and start with posting this Knit Along! I am so excited and cannot wait to see how many people we can get on board!
So here’s the details! Stacy from Musing and Motion, who has been kind enough to help co-host (really I am following her awesomeness here) this with me have decided to go with the Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks by Meghan Jones.
I AM REALLY
Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks
MAKE THIS!!
** The Pattern Details **
For the man body of the sweater is a DK weight yarn (Knit Picks suggests Gloss DK Yarn – between 8 and 16 balls based on measurements)
For the collar is a fingering weight yarn ( Knit Picks suggests Palette Yarn – 1 ball)
The finished bust measurements can be sized from 34″ to 62″ so it can be accessible to any size and is meant to be worn with a 2″ positive ease.
The needles are size 5 US 32″ Circulars – size 6 US 32″ – size 6 US DPNS
** The Knit Along Details **
Stacy and I are hoping to get this thing started on SEPTEMBER 16th – which gives us all three whole weeks to get our yarn and get ready! If you are interested please leave a comment and if you can think to on how to improve this whole process please let me know. I cannot wait to knit along with you – it’ll be my first!
All Night Knits 