doublepointed

Easter knitting

Happy Easter! One could say that I finished the following today because the colors were appropriate for the day - however, that is just chance!

This is Malika by Heather Sapp, a free pattern I found on Ravelry.  The yarn is Sugar n Cream; I used a little over 3 balls, and did an extra 6 rows of the lace pattern, not really intentionally - I knit this during meetings and wasn't really paying attention to when I was supposed to move on to the garter stitch rows at the top.  The yarn was a present in our Secret Santa gift exchange this past December, and came from Dawnell.  I haven't officially taken it to the store yet, but it looks like it will hold a lot of groceries - this is the contents of two plastic grocery bags.

I've finished two other things so far this calendar year; the first is this panel that is incorporated into a banner for the knitting and crochetting group at church.  I figured out my gauge with the yarn I intended to use, and then took the digital logo and in Photoshop made the number of pixels across equal the number of stitches I intended to use.  It came oule a little shorter in height than I had planned, but it all worked out fine with the other blocks sewn to it.

Here is the actual logo for comparison:

The first thing I finished was this hat, from Lana Grossa Colore, based on a pattern called Speedy Cable Beret. I wanted it slouchy, and I wanted to make use of all of the yarn, so instead of the 4-stitch cable in the pattern, I increased from the ribbing to a 6-stitch cable, and added more rows as I then had to decrease down more at the top.  I ended up with about 1 foot of yarn left.

I wanted to knit something fast, and if I hadn't basicly done it twice, it would be the fastest thing I have ever knit - bulky yarn on large needles.

On the needles now - not so large a yarn or needle size, so it may take a while.

Magrathea, a asymmetrical triangular shawlette out of the Pagewood Farms St. Elias that I got a few years ago at Threadbear when Kendra and I took a trip to Michigan.  This is a very interesting construction; at times on you ware working on three different sections of the edging in one row.  No promises as to how long it will take to finish!

 

Little things

I've been having fun knitting small things.  Who knew it could be such fun to knit something less than 2" long?

 

This is Chichester the Pig, pattern by Helen Apocalypse.  The yarn is Elann Peruvian Highland Wool; the eyes are size 6/0 black glass beads, threaded onto the yarn before cast-on, and placed on a purl stitch.  The eyes are placed in different rows in the different pigs, which gives them some individual character.   

 

Each pig took one cotton ball as stuffing.  The pattern is fairly easy, with a cast-on of six stitches, not too difficult on dpns,as long as you understand how the ears and legs are made.

The following was a little more difficult, as the cast-on is three stitches, one on each needle.

 

These are Soot Sprites, pattern by Sara Lee of Saradippity's Knits and Stuff.  Two strands of yarn are held together, a worsted-weight black (source: unknown), onto which the eyes are threaded, and an eyelash yarn (source: Kendra).  Rather than painting the pupils onto the 1/2 inch buttons, I used a black Sharpie permanent marker.  In real life, they look black, not purple - too much reflection from the flash in these pictures.

 

These took 2 cotton balls each, stuffed in VERY firmly.

These were so fast and fun that there might be more small creatures in my knitting future...

Dolce Iowa

The temperatures are back up in the nineties - just in time for some finished hand-knit socks!

 

Well, in actuality, the've been revamping our HVAC system at work and for over a month we had no control over the temperature in my office, leaving us to shiver in the suddenly frigid meat-locker cold.  We even resorted to opening the windows to let the heat IN.

So maybe hand-knit socks in the summer are not such a bad idea!

 

These are socks I started on a family reunion trip to Iowa.  I'd chosen a pattern  -- Rainbow Socks by Suzanne Kitzmann, but it just wasn't working out in this yarn, so I'll save that pattern for another skein.  For this yarn, Plymouth Sockotta in the colorway so eloquently named "367", I changed to Dolce by Sheryl Greenfield .

 

I like these socks. They're a little more pastel than is my usual taste, but I like them anyway.

 

I couldn't entirely match the two socks, though they are close twins.  Starting the second sock at the same place in the color repeat meant I ran out of yarn just before finishing, so the second sock has a little pink toe.  I guess that just means I can tell them apart!

There's a Place For Yarn...

While Mom and Dad were visiting me for Memorial Day, Mom and I went through (part of) my yarn stash, and helped me divest myself of some of it.  They took a bunch of leftover baby yarn and some Lion Brand Homespun and some other odds and ends - mostly from my early days of re-emergence as a knitter, before I became more of a yarn snob - to give to Lisa for the Sticks and Heartstrings program at her church.  (They'll see her again before I will.)

However, that still left me with a boatload of yarn.

When I bought my house 7 years ago, I acquired a vintage bedroom set (1930s or 40s, I think) for my guest room.  Since then, I've kept the bulk of my yarn stash in the tall chest of drawers that came, along with the bed and dresser, in the set.

That is, until the stash kept expanding.  I bought yarn for projects I haven't yet had time to make.  I found sales.  I started buying yarn as souvenirs.  My parents started buying their daughters yarn on their world-wide cruises.  (LOVE them for that!  (And for many other reasons.)) And the stash kind of exploded.

So I needed some more yarn storage.  I headed out to Target to price some plastic storage bins.  Not attractive, but practical.

And then I saw the Closetmaid Cube Organizer.  On sale.

And now I have this:

 

It's much more modern in feel, of course, than my bedroom set - as you can tell from the dresser to the left of the picture - but the colors tone right in perfectly.

And between the organizer and the chest of drawers, all my stash has a place.

At least until Mom and Dad go on another cruise. :-)

 

 

A Summer Haircut

Since Morgen was diagnosed and is living with EPI, I've noticed that the texture of her fur has changed, especially on her legs and chest.  It mats incredibly easily.  Either it's due to the changed from EPI, or she's part schnauzer and part velcro.

She also hates getting brished.  She doesn't even like it when she's not all tangled up.

So at her last grooming appointment, I decided it was time for a change.  

Before:

 

After:

 

This is what I call her Velveteen Schnauzer phase, when she is so soft and smooth it feels like you're petting velvet.  (Plus, she's got great big rabbity ears!)

 

And it's not too bad for dealing with the 95-degree weather, either!

 

Strangely enough, my hair i growing out.  I haven't taken time for my own summer haircut.  Just the puppeleh.

May/June update

Lisa here.  Last time I posted here, I wasn't sure I would complete my goal for May.  The May goal was to finish a quilt top that I had started a couple of years ago, as part of my plan to complete a UFO in odd months, and complete a new project in even months.  So how am I doing?

May

Here is the status of the quilt top on May 31.

 
Tocohl is very kindly pointing out where the problem with this is as a completed top (in case you couldn't see it for yourself).  Not completed by the end of the month.

 

And here, on May 31, is my June project - a new project as June is an even-numbered month.  These are infant socks, based on Baby Mitten Socks, a free pattern on ravelry, but changed from 2 x 2 ribbing to p1k3 ribbing, with every 4th row a k2tog and a yo.  The yarn is Fortissima Cotton, and I figured I could sneak a baby sock out of each ball and still have enough for an adult pair of socks.

H'mm you think.  I didn't know it was allowed to start a project when the project of the month is not yet finished.  Well, I say, waving my hands idly in the air, rules-schmules, sometimes you do what you have to do.

And if you object, don't look at the following.

 
This is the status on June 1 of a baby blanket, started at Sticks & Heartstrings, and destined for someone at the Community Pregnancy Center.

Enough of May and all of this rule-breaking.  How about June, you say.

June

 
Look, the quilt top is done!  OK, it didn't reach this status until June 27, but at least it got there.

 
June's Official Project, the baby socks, on June 30: knitting done, grafting toes and weaving in ends yet to be completed.  Almost there, but not quite.  Like reaching for something on the top shelf, standing on tiptoes, but you're an inch short.

 

But the unauthorized project is completed!  Thanks to a trip to a family reunion, this one is done.  I don't usually take something so large as a traveling project, especially when limited myself to carryon for the plane, but this one had a deadline, too - June 26. 

 

On June 23, this was off the needles, washed, and laying out to dry.

The pattern is in Japanese, and is the 28-29-25 Shawl, and luckily the pattern was in chart form.  The yarn is Dale Svale, and I used 7.25 balls, which had been purchased on e-bay a few years ago.  The yarn washed up nicely on gentle in the machine, and the eyelets opened up and evend out after washing.

July

So how's July's project going so far?  The plan is to quilt the top.  I have a firm deadline for this - a quilt show in August, so I've set myself a certain amount to do each day in order to get it done.  So far I'm on track.

 

I'm not quite sure how to quilt the on-point white squares - example on the left side of the hoop, but I will need to figure it out by Wednesday if I'm to keep on track.  I shouldn't have a problem with the schedule on days I don't work, but weekdays - especially ones where I have something to go to in the evening - may be a problem.

So no illicit projects in July, right? you say.  Umm, not exactly.  I do have a simple ribbed hat on the needles to work on during meetings - quilt frames are not quite that portable.  Sometimes you do what you have to do.

Lisadp's 2011 goals

 
Kendra may have been the one to list her goals for the year right away, but I too have set crafting goals for this year.  My goal is simple: in odd-numbered months, I will complete a project that I have already had started.  In even-numbered months, I can either finish a project under way, or start and finish a new project.  So, now that May is soon up, how am I doing on my goals?

January:  Finish Dad's Christmas present socks.  Check!

 
The pattern: Conwy, from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush (ravelry link).

The yarn: Knitivity Hand-dyed sock yarn in Stone.

Mods: cast on an extra 8 stitches to make sure they were large enough; followed the decreases of the pattern to make them fit the calf well.

February: knit feet onto a pair of legs for Socks for Soldiers. Also Done!

No picture of this one - check earlier blog posts for the same product.  The sock legs were team knit by someone with a circular sock knitting machine and I added the feet to the olive drab legs. Because I started my part of the work in February, this counts as a new project.

March: Finish up the Windansea Hat.  Done! 

 
A free pattern from Berrocco, knit in two skeins of Berrocco Seduce.  The knitting of this project was done quite a while ago, but I wasn't happy with the brim stiffening the first time around - too much of the white of the milliner's wire showed.  This time I colored the wire with a blue sharpie, and used twice as many crochet stitches to attach the wire.

 
It is difficult to take photos of your own head in a mirror!

I wore this outside on April 21, and although I used two bobby pins to hold it on, I did have to reach up and hold it a couple of times, due to the wind.  It did keep my nose from getting sunburned, so was a success!

April: Yoga Socks.  Finally done!

 

These were knit for a fellow quilter for her daughter; she started them but was having problems and I ended up doing them for her.  The free pattern was a handout from Michael's, and the yarn is Kroy from Pattons.

So far the year has gone well - but will I continue meeting my goal for May?  This one is more of a challange, as the plan is to finish the blocks and put together the quilt top for a project I started a couple of years ago.  Hmmm. I think I better stop typing and go sew.

 

 

Spring. Finally.

Spring is finally here - at least for a day and a half before we get more rain.  And here are the signs:

 
Well, actually these daffodills are no longer blooming.  They're from a few weeks ago.

But I have these:

 

I had a long wait in the Amsterdam airport while coming back from last summer's British Isles cruise.  While there, I purchased a (sanctioned for transport to the U.S.) package of mixed parrot tulip bulbs.  I gave some out to friends and co-workers, but kept a dozen.  I had three varieties come up: some corally pink ones that came up first but no longer bloom, the above mid-purple ones, and these gorgeous tulips:

 
 Pale yellow and red striped.  Absolutely beautiful.

 

Now if I could only get rid of all the weeds....

Knitting Goals for 2011

I have one big knitting goal for 2011 - at the end of 2011, any currently unfinished object will be either finished or frogged.

That's not to say that I can't have other, yet-to-be-started projects that are unfinished when we roll into 2012, but nothing current.

Which leaves me with the following, in no particular order (well, in the order they show up on my Ravelry projects page):

1.  The Peacock Feathers Shawl.  I've had this pattern for a number of years, planning to make it with KnitPicks laceweight in Turquoise Splendor.  But during a family reunion in Williamsburg, VA, last year, I found this gorgeous Prism Lace Wool at Knitting Sisters, and knew it would be perfect:

 

It's less dull olive in real life.  I got as far as several rows into the border before Christmas, but ran into some problems and had to frog back a number of rows.  I've got a few more to forg, and then I can start this up again.

2. My Lace Ribbon Scarf.  Lisa and I both started this project on our British Isles Cruise last August.  I cranked speedily ahead (the hare to her tortoise) and finished it (smugly) very soon after we'd returned home.  And then it sat in a bag, waiting to be blocked.  And waiting.  And waiting.

In the meantime, Lisa finished hers and has probably been wearing it with abandon, while mine just sits.  And waits.

And will probably continue to wait until we have warmer weather - I've closed off the heat to my guest room (where I do my blocking) to save on the gas bill.  But once it's a little more temperate in there, blocking will commence!

3. Cassidy.  This sweater has been under way for over a year - I started it on December 25, 2009.  I'd gotten the fronts, back and sleeves knitted and then realized I'd need gorilla arms to wear the sleeves at the length I'd knitted them.  (I don't have particularly short arms, either - I think I just got carried away with the knitting.)  So Cassidy sat in a bag for a long time.

This year over Christmas, I ripped back the sleeves and shortened them each by three repeats.  They have now been reknit, but need to be reblocked before I can sew them to the body pieces.  (See item #2.)

I do suspect that these will get blocked before the Lace Ribbon Scarf, though - it's sweater weather here and I'd really like to be able to wear this one.  Soon.

4. and 5. My Ex-Clapotis Scarf and My Ex-Clapotis Hat. These were (not surprisingly, from their names) once a Clapotis.  I bought the Lion and Lamb specifically for the Clapotis, but didn't know that it really needed four skeins, not three.  I wasn't happy with the size I could make, so I ended up frogging it.

After I decided to knit My So-Called Scarf with the Lion and Lamb, I first figured out how to make a matching beret; I knit the scarf last so I could use up all the yarn.

These just need ends woven in and they're ready to go; I don't even think they need blocking.  I will wear them with the purple leather gloves I got for Christmas this year.

6. Hey, Teach.  I grossly overestimated my size when knitting this, so it looked horrible on me.  I am since even smaller, so although I frogged and started reknitting it in a smaller size, it still might not be right.  I'd like to have this ready to wear this spring.



And while we're at it,

7. Hey Teach #2.  This is technically a finished object, but it looks terrible on Lisa, for whom I knit it.  It's in my posession now as it needs to be reknit to an appropriate size.

8. Traveler's Twist Stole.  My first (and only) self-designed knitting.  I've got the body knit but need to figure out the design for the two end pieces, to be knit in black Cherry Tree Hill fingering weight.

9. Pomatomus Socks.  Started on a cruise a number of years ago, these weren't fitting right.  They need to be frogged and either reknit or knit into another pattern.

10. That *!!?@ Stranded Vest (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Kendra/snowmen-and-skates-winter-vest).  I am not good at stranded knitting.  I need more practice before I can handle something like this.  Plus, I no longer wear the size I started making, so this needs to be frogged.

Also, I am no longer so enamored of the whole knitted Christmas/Winter-themed Sweater idea.  I just may use this yarn for something else.

 11. My Shapely Tee.  I started this a long time ago when I was much bigger.  It should be frogged.

12. My Jaywalkers.  The first one looks great; the stripes really show off the diagonal lines created by the stitch pattern.  However, the second skein of yarn - from the same dye lot - was plied differently, so the colors don’t line up the same, and the sock doesn’t look right.

  
I guess I need to find a "correctly-plied" skein to do the second sock, or rip both out and use the "good" skein for the portions that will show and the "Bad" skein for the heel and foot...

But a decision must be made.

 ________________________

So at 12 (coincidentally) unfinished projects, that means I will only have to deal with one per month, on average.  The Ex_Clapotis Hat and Scarf, Lace Ribbon Scarf, Shapely Tee, and *!!?@ Vest shouldn't talke too long to deal with (one way or another.)

The others?  Well, we'll see. :-)

 

Fall wonders

Fall is well under way here, and so is the fall knitting.

I have completed three hats (four with the brown Rib-a-Roni I made last December) for Seafarer's Boxes for the Christmas at Sea program. 

 

Here are three of the hats - a Ribbed Beanie for Any Head in olive Falk, and a blue and a brown Rib a Roni hat.

The Ribbed Beanie for Any Head is a pattern by Dancing Geek that I found on Ravelry.  I particularly like the grafted closing in the center of the hat, as it leaves no gaps.

 

The hat does seem to fit on a large range of "heads", going around the narrow pumpkin stem in the first picture, and over a large crystal pillar candle holder in the second picture.  I liked the first one enough that I decided to make a second.

 

I used a cable cast on for the first hat, and a long tail for the second.  Either works fine for this pattern.  The second hat I knit 1/2 inch longer before starting the decreases - I expect it can get pretty cold at sea, and a well-covered ear might be desirable.  Plus I had enough yarn to make the hat a little longer.  The color is best in the first picture (no surprise there, with actual sunlight).

 

I also finished my Lace Ladders scarf, made out of Colinette Jitterbug in Slate that I purchased at Yarns 2 Ewe a while back.  I used one skein, and knit three repeats of the pattern, to get more length with the smaller skein than the pattern called for.

 

 

This was vacation knitting this summer; and Kendra knit one also - she finished knitting hers first, but I blocked mine before she did.  I did have problems with the yarn - a total of 3 breaks in the yarn, and 6 other places where some of the plies were broken, as in this picture.  Rather frustrating, but I absolutely loved the colors in the yarn, and how they changed, so I couldn't give up on the project.  And the splices aren't noticeable.

 

I blocked the scarf firmly; the blocked length was 1/4" shorter than eight feet, and I blocked the scallops to 5 inches between each scallop, with a width of about 7 1/2 inches.  Now the scarf has been relaxed, and worn once, it is 92 inches long, and about 6 1/2-7 inches wide.

 

So fall knitting is officially done - back to other projects.