Gretel -- February-March 2009
Not one of my successes, this. Lovely pattern but another in my can't-quite-find-a-knitted-hat-that-works-on-me list. Fun to make though.
Details: Ysolda's
Gretel, knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran on 3.75mm bamboo double-pointed needles.
Ravelry link.
Labels: gretel, hat
Dainty hoodie -- July 2008 - January 2009
I love this jumper. I like the fact that it's form-fitting and flattering. It weighs almost nothing, the yarn's very soft, and the lace pattern makes it both a really warm heat-trapping layer under a coat and something good to pull on over a strappy top on a summer evening when the sun goes down and the temperature starts to cool.
I'm really pleased with it. It didn't stretch out the way I feared when I blocked it, and actually fits like a dream. It's the perfect length on me.
Mods: knitted body and sleeves in the round up to the shoulder shaping. Took one pattern repeat out of the front and back (if I hadn't it would have been MASSIVE). Knitted the body a few inches longer.
Details: 15 Hooded Sweater with Lace Pattern from Rebecca #32, knitted in Rowan RYC Cashcotton DK on 5mm bamboo circular and double-pointed needles.
Ravelry link.
Labels: dainty hoodie, FO, FO 2009
Cabley Goodness socks -- December 2008 - January 2009
In the spirit of actually posting something, as begun yesterday, I've decided there's no reason you shouldn't see
pictures of what I've been up to, even if I don't have much in the way of words. First up, here's my project from last Christmas.
This was an exceedingly satisfying and interesting pair of socks and another beautiful pattern from Eunny Jang. If I were to knit them again my only modifications would be to make the heel a little shorter (fewer rows than the pattern states) and pluck up the courage to knit the heel flap in pattern. Otherwise these are very pleasing (and ultra-warm!) -- they only suffer from my own mental block about actually
wearing them lest I damage them! Winter's on its way again though so I think I'll get over that soon enough.
Details: Eunny Jang's
Chuck's Cabled Socks, knitted in Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4 Ply on 3.25mm bamboo double-pointed needles.
Ravelry link.
Labels: cabley goodness, chuck's cabled socks, eunny jang, FO, FO 2009, socks
Vivian - my hood saga
And there was me seeing if I could go a year without blog posts! Hi there knitting blog, I have missed you, honestly. How've you been? The place looks lovely. I have had such a year for knitting too -- eight projects to show you! Eight! And the year's not over yet. Watch this space.
The pressing concern which has brought me out of blogging retirement today is the need for somewhere with a little more space to write than a
Ravelry project page, so I could keep a note of something. One of my biggest achievements this year has been completing the utterly sumptious
Vivian, by
Ysolda. And one of my biggest achievements
within that project has been altering the way the hood is constructed (after knitting that
damn hood not once, not twice, but three times). The first couple of times I just added extra length to the hood (18 rows the first time, and 30 rows the second) but I didn't like the way the hood hung as a result -- it was too long and scoopy and didn't look as polished as the rest of the garmant. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with something I liked better, and wanted to share how I did it with the rest of the world in case it helps somebody else.
(Other big thing done while completing Vivian --
cutting my knitting. More on that another time, but do know that when the scissors had made the cut which put me beyond the point of no return I did actually break out into a cold sweat. Horrible, but worth it.)
So anyway, Vivian hood. These are my instructions for making the hood larger and with a more rounded approach to shaping the crown, in the 34-inch size. All of the increases and decreases are contained within the seed stitch panel, which lets the gorgeous cable pattern on either side of the hood continue uninterrupted all the way to the top. For the very top of the hood (the parts I've called 'crown panel' sections) I've used Ysolda's approach to the saddle shoulders, which is very pleasing and works neatly. (These instructions are really specific to the 34-inch size but you could apply the process to all the other sizes -- increase and decrease in the seed stitch panel, and then when the top of the seed stitch panel is at the length you want the hood to be and the right width, work either side of the crown using Ysolda's saddle shoulder approach for the appropriate number of pattern rows. If that makes no sense and you're desperate, you could ask me!)
I've put the hood row numbers and the pattern row numbers, as I found distinguishing between the two a bit confusing.
(This is a personal alteration to the pattern and isn't a criticism of it -- aside from the hood this has been one of the best and most satisfying patterns I've ever followed. If anything my interpretation of the hood is inspired by how awesome the rest of the pattern is. And hopefully one day soon [by my interpretation of 'soon'] you can see photos of my finished project!)
Felinity's Vivian hoodBegin the hood as set in pattern.
Rows 1-14 (
120-33 in pattern) - Work straight in pattern.
Rows 15-51 (
34-70 in pattern) - Increase 14 stitches in seed stitch panel as follows: increase 1 stitch at either end of seed stitch panel (pfb) on rows: 15 (
34 in pattern), 21 (
40), 27 (
46), 33 (
52), 39 (
58), 45 (
64), 51 (
70) - 22 stitches in seed stitch panel
Rows 52-64 (
71-83 in pattern) - Work straight in pattern
Rows 65-81 (
84-100 in pattern) - Decrease 10 stitches in seed stitch panel as follows: decrease 1 stitch at either end of seed stitch panel on rows: 65 (
84 in pattern), 69 (
88), 73 (
92), 77 (
96), 81 (
100) - 12 stitches in seed stitch panel
Start crown panel section.
Lefthand crown panel (6 rows)
Row 82 (
101 in pattern) (WS) - Work in pattern until one stitch before seed stitch panel begins, p3tog, turn
Row 83 (
102) (RS) - Sl1, work in pattern to end of row
Rows 84-87 (
103-106) - Repeat Rows 82-83 twice. Break yarn leaving a long tail. Put the 41 stitches just worked on a stitch holder.
Righthand crown panel (6 rows)
Row 82 (
101 in pattern) (WS) - Join yarn and start row after seed stitch panel. Sl1, work in pattern to end of row.
Row 83 (
102) (RS) - Work in pattern until one stitch before seed stitch panel begins, sssk, turn
Row 84 (
103) - Sl1, work in pattern to end of row.
Row 85 (
104) - Repeat row 102.
Rows 86-87 (
105-106) - Repeat rows 84-85 once. Break yarn.
All seed stitch panel stitches should now have been worked. Put the stitches from the lefthand crown panel back on a separate needle. Kitchener the two crown panels together from the outside in. (Note: it's worth putting the effort in to graft the panels together appropriately depending on whether it's knit or purl. For my first two versions of the hood I did a three-needle bind-off after grafting the i-cord section, which was easy but doesn't look nearly as nice. Grafting knit/purl will still be half a stitch out, but even so looks much more attractive.)
Labels: vivian
Early Christmas -- July-November 2008
Does it sound trite to call something 'my new favourite' every other item? This one is, though, and it'll take some beating. It's Eunny Jang's Print o the Wave stole, knitted in Handmaiden Lace Silk. It's the most beautiful thing I have ever made.
You'd have had regular updates on this throughout the latter half of last year had it not been a Christmas present for my mum and therefore super-secret.
I was quite nervous right up until blocking that I'd made it too tiny and it was going to be more of a scarf/handkerchief than a stole. But turns out they're not lying, and blocking lace is genuinely magic. Clever, eh?
(Can I just point out that the pictures of me were all taken the morning after the night before, in a rush while we had a bit of blessed sunshine, and my slightly glazed squinty look is due to tiredness and the sun being in my eyes? It's not representative of my normal facial expression. No, honestly!)
It weighs almost nothing, it's warm and crisp and soft all at once. Clever, lovely pattern, stunning yarn. And my mum really loves it. I am thrilled with this whole project.
Details: Eunny Jang's
Print O' the Wave Stole, knitted in Handmaiden Fine Yarn Lace Silk on 3.25mm circular bamboo needles.
Ravelry link.
Labels: christmas, FO, FO 2008, presents, print o the wave, scarf, stole
Sister-in-law Mitts -- September 2008
The words aren't really coming, but I have the pictures*, so let's actually get an FO post up shall we? These were a 2008 Christmas present for (surprise) my sister-in-law. It is a satisfying little cable project, and the yarn made a dense and very warm fabric while still remaining quite soft (though SIL has reported they were slightly itchy to start with, however she has since adjusted -- I should probably have washed them in some fabric softener before gifting them). I did an extra pattern repeat to bring them over the knuckles, and did a bit of a tricksy sewn cast-off to stop them flaring. If I made them again (which I might, you know, I liked this pattern) I think I'd add some ribbing at the start.
I like them, and thankfully my sister-in-law does too!
Details: Linda K's Yummy Mummy wristwarmers (ugh, crappy pattern name, also I can only find the pattern on Ravelry, sorry), knitted in Artesano Ltd Inca Cloud on 3mm double-pointed bamboo needles.
My Ravelry link here.
*
Albeit slightly ropey ones -- my fault, not the model's!Labels: FO, FO 2008, gloves, mitts, presents
I'm still alive! Look!
Oh BLOG! I am sorry! Left you out there in July and tripped off for five months with nary a backwards glance. In my defence, it was largely because I spent a goodly portion of those five months knitting unbloggable Christmas presents -- this has reinforced my already quite strong suspicion that I am a slooow knitter. But there we go.
So there are a couple of FOs which require their own special posts, but in the meantime here's some bits and pieces, starting with an update on the lacy jumper I left you with in July:
So, er, not actually finished yet, but I'll pick it up again soon. I finished the body and arms in September and it's been hibernating ever since while I finished the unbloggable gifts. Just the hood and a bit of finishing to go, and if I'm sensible and finish it in the next few weeks, it might actually help ward off some of the ICY COLD that we're facing at the moment (I go back to walking to work tomorrow -- eek!).
Aww, getting it out for photographing it tonight has reminded me how lovely it is! It weighs almost nothing and is ultra-soft (and warm). I'm a wee bit trepidacious that it's going to grow quite a
lot when blocked, but I'm choosing to ignore that.
(Apologies, by the way, for the
truly awful photography appearing in a couple of places in this post. Can you tell which two are the results of me hurriedly trying to take pictures on the bed in dreadful artificial light this evening? Neither this jumper nor the aran are done any justice at all in these pics. Sorry!)
Some yarn pictures for you:
Seriously Gorgeous Swiss Cashmere, bought at the Knitwitches stall at I Knit London in September. I have to really work hard at not using this yarn as a pillow every night. It's eye-wateringly expensive, but also the softest and most gorgeous yarn I've ever touched. And it's mine! Ha ha!
Also bought at I Knit, this is some Angel Lace. I might dye it, or I might just leave it natural. And as a polar opposite to the cashmere, this cost a teeny-tiny £8 for 1,200 metres!
This is 1kg of non-specific 100% natural aran-weight, sweetly donated to my stash by the beautiful Mme Glitz of
Glitzknits. It's going to be, clearly, an aran jumper, and I'm thinking either
this (not a great photo) or possibly
this. Of course, I should probably finish at least one of
the three jumpers I currently have on the needles first (actually, that last one is likely to be frogged).
And, go on, have a sneak peak at a few upcoming blogging items.
More soon! (Well, by my definition of 'soon'.)
Labels: dainty hoodie, yarn
Quick look at something new
I started this last weekend.
It is the snappily titled 'Hooded Sweater with Lace Pattern' from
Rebecca #32, although my version has a working title of Dainty Hoodie. I'm using that delicious RYC Cashcotton I got from Liberty a few weeks ago (the photo show the yarn a little bluer than reality), and if you get the chance to buy some you certainly should because it is (so far) a dream to knit with. The lace pattern is easy to memorise, as I found out on a recent lengthy train journey, and fingers crossed that this project could be a winner.
Labels: dainty hoodie, lace
Spin me a yarn...
I'm now the proud owner of two skeins of
Handmaiden Lace Silk, in ivory. Hear that? That was my little whisper of contentment.
It is just. Stunning.
But, I learned a valuable lesson with this yarn. One which is probably already known to everyone else in the UK, but on the offchance that anyone else is as unworldly as I was, here's the rub: order something from outside the EU, and you get
hit with a customs charge. In my case, I did the maths on the lace silk, and worked out that even with postage, ordering it from the States was pretty much the same price as from the UK (plus, I couldn't find the ivory colourway for sale anywhere over here). So off I went and merrily ordered online, and then three weeks later found out that I had to pay an extra £15 on top before I could actually get the precious silk in my hands -- an £8 handling fee to Royal Mail for the privilege of them dropping a note through my letterbox, and £6.94 in VAT to HMRC.
Boooo. Hey ho. It's gorgeous, properly grown-up lace yarn which I love, and I'll now know to be cautious in future when buying from overseas. But honestly, how enraging is THAT? Argh!
On the subject of yarn I know you want to see it. But a quick knitting equation first. Skeins = winding. And a skein of lace yarn = hours and hours of winding.
I don't have a swift, and, as I discovered when
winding the seasilk the other month, holding the skein loop in one hand and winding the ball winder with the other means you need your third hand to keep the tension right and, ideally, your fourth hand to gently tease the yarn away from the skein without incurring knots. However I decided that three hands would just about be enough to (slowly) wind away with fewer mishaps, and so I roped in a little helper to assist by holding the loop of yarn.
Can you tell what it is yet? This little tableau featured in my lounge for most of Sunday afternoon. In extremis, I do recommend having a duck to hang your yarn on.
They don't even complain.
And then they guard your yarn for you afterwards. (Note: this is only one of the skeins. I'll save the second one for a really desperate rainy day.)
In significantly cheaper news... Liberty is having a half-price Rowan sale. I went in on Thursday night last week to possibly buy a single skein of something simple, and came out with most of a bag of RYC Cashcotton DK for £20 (eight skeins). Do I need it? No! But frankly I think I did pretty well not to have spent £200 (think how much I would have saved, though, if I had!).
Normally I might not be so keen on buying stuff like this in bulk -- it's lovely, but very
mainstream if you know what I mean, and usually a bit unsatisfyingly uniform. However, this particular colourway has little flecks of extra colour in it, and it won me over. I have a possible lace sweater in mind for it -- whether or not eight skeins will stretch to a sweater remains to be seen, but I reckon I'm in with a reasonable chance. If not, perhaps a sleeveless top with some sort of cowly neck? Possibilities!
Labels: lace silk, RYC cashsoft, yarn
Buckinghamshire Blues -- March-June 2008
So-called because that's where the yarn was bought, and also because the socks were started during a slightly miserable time when I was between houses. Finished in much happier circumstances, thankfully.
Details: Toe-up ribbed socks with short-row toe, gusset and turned heel, knitted in Lana Gross Meilenweit on 2.5mm and 2mm double-pointed bamboo needles.
Labels: buckinghamshire blues, FO, FO 2008, socks, toe-up ribbed socks
Socks and bags progress
The
blue sock is vastly improved, fit-wise, by being ripped and reknit to incorporate a
gusset and
reverse turned heel.
Old (bad!):
New (good!):
I've made the foot a fraction too long (I should have ripped back another half-inch or so before starting the gusset), but it's not excessive and the sock is
much more comfortable than it was with the short-row heel. And I've learnt a new technique (which was easy to execute and has left nary a hole around the ankle -- win!). It also allowed me to make the leg of the sock four stitches wider around than the foot, which adds to the comfort and fit even more.
And
my Percy bag has found a new place in my heart after I lined it at the weekend. Look. At. That. Silk!
The lining experience was a collaborative effort: a weekend at my parents' meant being able to raid my mother's stash of inner lining materials, and after some trial and error we decided upon adding a double layer of additional fine lining between the knitted material and the silk. The inner lining is an adhesive one (melting onto the knitting when ironed on, although you can pull it off again if you need to), and we added two cross-directional layers so that the bag now stands much less chance of stretching out of shape (it's not stiff, but feels significantly stronger now that it's been reinforced).
And I am smitten. Just look at it, though! I am childishly pleased with my success at painstakingly sewing in the silk lining, as sewing is generally not my strong point. When it's finished this little bag is going to be unique and gorgeous -- I'd tell you what the plan is for the fastening, but I want it to be a surprise. It's another collaborative approach, though (thanks Mum!).
Labels: blue ribbed socks, gusset heel, percy, toe-up ribbed socks
Where are they now?
Time to do a catch-up on some of those unresolved items from yesteryear.
1.
This post would be a good place to start. See the lovely just-started Liesel in the lovely lofty Rowan Cork? She languished at the bottom of my knitting basket, untouched and unloved, for a good couple of years. But she's gone to a better place now. Ie, the nifty trade or sell function in Ravelry has enabled me to dispatch that Cork (plus the proto-Liesel, for interest) to a much more appreciative recipient on the other side of the Atlantic. Bye bye Liesel! I'll make you in another yarn one day.
2.
Same post (and
this one, too). Ahh, the Handmaiden Seasilk. It is just
gorgeous, you know? Really really beautiful. What it isn't, though, is 500 metres a skein (as advertised, when I bought it). It's actually 400 metres. Which, combined with a denser lace pattern than I'd anticipated, meant (although it took me more than a year to accept it) that the tasty seasilk scarf I diligently worked on for a month or two was turning into a stunning, beautifully drapey teatowel. So last weekend I finally pulled my finger out and we saw the following chain of events:
It's my first ripping and re-winding experience and it mostly went pretty well
(save for a Tangle Incident, which I shall gloss over, but let me just say that a boyfriend who will help you untangle yarn when you're all cross and tetchy is someone just shy of saintly). And I finally discovered the perfect use for some wrist-weights that have been eying me balefully since I bought them four years ago in a brief fit of exercise-lust.
3. You want some actual knitting? Go on then. Remember the
sock yarn I picked up on an otherwise fruitless expedition to get some 3.5mm circs out in the wilds of Buckinghamshire?
Here is one nearly-finished sock:
Basic toe-up ribbed socks with short-row heel.
Except. Trying it on at this stage tells me that this going to be a near re-run of the
too-tight sock disaster that I had with my ribbed green socks. Could it be that ribbing and the toe-up/short-row method just doesn't result in the right fit for me? Gahh! And I did my maths so carefully! It's a mystery, because my
cabled Koigus are the most comfortable socks you can imagine (and still one of my top-three knitting projects ever), and they're based on exactly the same calculations and construction. Why would a slipped-stich rib be substantially more stretchy that an ordinary one? On the other hand, we are looking at an £18 pair of socks (yes, I know) versus a £6 pair...
Anyway, net result is that I'm ripping it back to before the heel and am going to try the gusset heel approach. I've been meaning to try that for ages anyway, but it's a shame I bothered doing six inches of unnecessary sock in the meantime. Hey ho! If it still doesn't fit after that, I'm ditching the yarn (which I'm not all that crazy about, to be honest, having been spoiled with some really special yarns since I bought it) and starting another pair of socks in something entirely different.
4.
Ribby, for those who wondered, is still in pieces, some of which are still waiting to be ripped and re-knit. I got distracted by the arrival of the Cotton Fleece for my ribby-inspired
in-the-pink, and the original has been pretty neglected as a result. I hope I'll go back and finish it one day, but after working with delicate cotton-based yarns it does seem awfully scratchy and clunky now. Not given up on it yet, though.
5. My miniature Via Diagonale is the one unfinished project from
that post that hasn't been abandoned, although granted it hasn't been finished yet either. I've knit it to the right length and it's been patiently hanging around waiting for me to buy some lining, decide what kind of opening it should have (clasp? zip?), and sort out some kind of strap or handle. Maybe check back in another year or so and see how I'm getting on with that...
Labels: blue ribbed socks, liesel, ribbon yarn, ribby cardi, seasilk, toe-up ribbed socks, via diagonale, wip
