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Wending

February 21, 2012 by Cassy

This has been an intense semester so far. My workload in my PhD program has nearly doubled from last semester. In addition to this, I am 13 weeks pregnant. Thus, the blog upkeep and project posting has been put on the back burner.

These fingerless gloves are a little project I knitted up about a month ago. I had most of the pattern written and finally got around to getting all of the pictures in the pattern the way I wanted. They are called Wending because the zig zag pattern makes me think of going back and forth on many paths, perhaps with a sprinkling of indecision involved.

They are an easy first Fair Isle adventure. The pattern becomes intuitive after a few repeats. Fair Isle projects always seem to fly by for me, perhaps because I’m so eager to watch the repeats grow.

If you’re interested in purchasing this pattern, you can find it on Ravelry. There is more information on this page, or you can buy it directly here:

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Well, hello 2012.

January 29, 2012 by Cassy

My year started out in a pretty delightful way. While I was home on New Year’s Eve quite early (due to some massive fatigue), Matt managed to talk me into some hiking on the next day. He woke up energized and excited around 7:30. I was still grumbling and reluctant when he suggested going on an extensive day hike, but I went along with it, deciding I would probably enjoy it more than my 7:30 self believed. I was right. We went to a place called Hemmed in Hollow near the Buffalo River. It was a lovely day. The hike out of the waterfall area was STEEP and arduous, but it was all well worth it in the end. It was an excellent experience and I’m glad that Matt pushes me to spend more time in the outdoors.

I finished a second pair of socks for Matt. I also realized that I never posted about the first pair I made for him. We took pictures of them back in October, I think, and he still loves them.
This colorway is from the Opal Winter Fairy Tale collection. I don’t think it’s being manufactured anymore, but the color is 2150 if you feel like hunting for it. I love Opal sock yarns. I usually have some kind of plain stockinette pair on the needles and I love to see how the self-striping happens.It keeps me going. The yarn is also extremely durable. I have favorite sock yarns for softness (like Malabrigo, or Tosh sock, or Koigu), but for durability Opal and Regia are stellar.

The second pair was made with Ty-Dy sock yarn in color 1364. I also enjoy the chaotic splashes of color and the ways they co-mingle. I did both pairs from the toe up, using all but maybe a 1/2 yard of the yarn. This time I did some ribbing and followed it with 3 rows of stockinette. I read somewhere that if you finish with a few rows of stockinette and bind off normally then the cuff should still be stretchy. When I was beginning to bind off it did not feel especially stretchy, so I did Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off like usual. I accidentally deleted the pics of these…so I’ll have to post some later when I get another chance to take a pic of his feet in daylight.

This almost ends my little sock parade. After I finished Matt’s socks, I realized that all I had left on the sock needles were a pair of Jaywalkers I started ages ago. So I finished them! I used Koigu (color 342) and they were a little shorter than I wanted with just two skeins. Koigu comes in 175 yard skeins. With Jaywalkers eating up a wee bit more yarn the patterning, I decided to pull some Shibui out of my stash and made a complimentary cuff. The Shibui color is called Blue Spruce. 

Damn, I love making socks.

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Savoring.

December 20, 2011 by Cassy

Oscar knows how to savor things.

This has been a lovely holiday season so far. I don’t usually like the holidays that much. Most years, I’m stressed out about what presents to give people, clamoring for time to knit things for others and some for myself, and the usual family quibbles. This year, some of that stress was assuaged when my family decided we would draw one name each and get a present for just that person. I like this for multiple reasons. We over-commercialize the holidays, and focusing on just one person means that you can put more mindfulness into the “perfect” gift for that person.

This year, I drew my dad. Last year I knit him socks, and since I think that is about the only thing I could knit that he would wear, I decided it would be a non-knitting year for me and the family present. Even less stress. Although, I’ve seen so many cute hat, shawl, accessory patterns lately (and have designed a few myself) that I would have been nice to draw my mom, sister, or brother’s girlfriend. They’re the ones that really appreciate the handknits.

Besides family gatherings, I’ve also been socializing a lot. This year I’ve made a lot of great new women friends, both knitters and non-knitters (but be sure I’ll try to convert some of those non-knitters) and I’m very grateful for all of them. I’ve been to quite a few potluck/gift exchange gatherings, double date nights, knit nights, and old friend reunions. I’ll be making these cookies for another potluck tonight, and they are really delicious. My extrovert self is supremely happy.

As for knitting news… I just bought the pattern for the Stripe Study Shawl after seeing the lovely one recently knitted by Erin. This shawl is designed by Veera, who also designed the Still Light Tunic (aka my favorite finished garment) that was my NaKniSweMo challenge.

I’ve been working on the Sky Sweater. I love it so far. I’m worried about the potential neck itchiness factor with the turtleneck and the Creative Focus Worsted together. I’m going to wash the sweater with conditioner when done in hopes of softening it a bit. Any tips? I’m three needle sizes smaller than the recommended to get gauge. I know I’m a loose knitter, but this is CRAZY. I know it’s me too, because the yarn’s ball band has a size 7/20 sts over 4 inches gauge and I’m on a 3 to get 22.5 in 4 inches. Sheesh. Knitting any tighter than I am hurts.

I’m enjoying the construction of the sweater. The horizontal band is really fun. I wasn’t sure how it would work in the pattern, but then I got there and it all made perfect sense. The pattern has a substantial amount of shaping, so even though it’s stockinette, it hasn’t been boring at all. I think it’s going to be extremely warm, which is a plus.  My fella likes to keep the heat on 60 degrees aside from space heaters to help in the rooms where we spend the most time. Really, all my yarn purchases are just a way to help the planet, right? Do you think we could get the government to subsidize this in some way? Hmmmm….

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Betwixt

December 13, 2011 by Cassy

Did you just say to yourself, “Hey, don’t I need another slouchy hat?” Of course you did. Betwixt is knit from a bulky weight yarn on U.S. size 10 (6mm) needles, making it a relatively (4-6 hr) quick gift for someone else or yourself! The yarn is SMC Tweed Deluxe, but any bulky weight yarn intended for needle size 10-10.5 would work well. Almost all skeins of yarn come with a recommended needle size and gauge on that needle size written on the ball band.

The hat fits snugly to my head, and the alpaca and wool make this a warm creation. I had been eyeing this yarn at my LYS for a couple of weeks and finally decided it needed to be a hat.

The SMC Tweed Deluxe is also very nice to knit with, and readily available online or if you call my LYS we can tell you what colors we have in stock. At this time, we definitely have the color shown (7112 Brown/white), as well as 7144 Grey/wine, and 7114 Black/White. The yarn has a single color at the core and another color wrapped around it like netting. It’s quite unique.

People always seem to enjoy the sneers and funny faces. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

You can buy the pattern directly here: or read more about it on Ravelry here.

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Larch! Or the blog post where I make a lot of funny faces…

December 12, 2011 by Cassy

This baby is FINISHED. I started Larch Cardigan by Amy Christoffers last February or March. After setting her aside for numerous other ventures, she is finished. I reknit the collar several times. Lesson to be learned: hey, read the full pattern. Then read it again. Then read it one more time.

That collar is totally worth it.

I knit this in the exact yarn called for in the pattern, even the same color. That’s how much I like Amy’s taste. It’s Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Tupelo. It’s not the softest yarn ever created, but it sure is warm. I think alpaca makes me itch. Just a little.

A lady never forgets her first set-in sleeves. They were relatively drama free. I did all the other finishing and weaving in of ends first, then I watched this Berroco video that is narrated by Cirilla Rose and shows how to make a very nice seam. They weren’t scary, despite the groans I’ve heard emitted from women in the yarn shop about how much they don’t like these sleeves.

I will be redoing my little crochet button loops, but that’s for another day. I should have made them a little bit longer.

Um, we took a lot of pictures. Or at least my fella did.

I freaking love this sweater. I will wear it every week until it is no longer cold.

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Befuddled.

December 6, 2011 by Cassy

Ripping the collar.

I consider myself a pretty decent knitter, by no means an expert, but consistently capable of putting out fairly good pieces. I started the Larch Cardigan last February or early March in the final days of winter. Then it got warm and I promptly put it in a drawer in favor of more weather-appropriate pieces. When I unearthed this beauty to finish, I was excited. A nearly finished sweater. All I had to finish was the lovely shawl collar in 1×1 twisted rib. I ripped back the collar a bit to a spot that was recognizable. I reknit, this time taking careful notes since I knew our time together would be interrupted by my NaKniSweMo project.

After NaKniSweMo I merrily returned to Larch to knit, thinking I had full understanding of the instructions. I was nearly finished with this lovely collar, a 1×1 twisted rib (twisting both the knit and purl stitches=an arduous task), and then I counted my stitches. Why hadn’t I counted earlier?! Sheer confidence (or stupidity). I was about 55 stitches over what the instructions said I should have! I misread things. The instructions had one part that said “pick up 6 along right neck edge, then 6 along left neck edge, then repeat last two rows x times more” then “Pick up 4 stitches at end of each row x times,” and I doubled the picking up 4 stitches and the picking up 2 after that misunderstanding that a repeat was a single row, rather than both the right and left sides. ARGH!

So, I ripped back. Then started at a new place. Knitted again. Went over again because I was confident that I remembered correctly. I don’t have an explanation. I can do simple math. I promise. It just eluded me temporarily. Really, the instructions aren’t unclear. I think I have a different row gauge and I’m also sticking more stitches in than there are supposed to be because I have more rows to begin with. I think the most important thing to do now is to get the right number of rows in, so my collar doesn’t grow to crazy heights, and just do however many stitches at the end of each row that it takes to get there. Here I go again. I won’t let this get me down and I really want to finish. It’s getting very cold and the sweater has a lot of alpaca in it. Besides, I already have the yarn for this and this waiting…

Does anyone else make a fake seam when there is none? Larch is seamless, but I put in a purl stitch in the midst of the stockinette to look like a seam. I don’t know if it helps keep things in place, but I like it.

I also got a lovely yarn bowl in a recent holiday sale with local artists. I love the color.

Back to ripping…

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Be still, knitting heart.

November 29, 2011 by Cassy

NaKniSweMo 2011 is finished. I completed the Still Light Tunic, which is essentially a dress out of sock weight yarn. I am pleased. This yarn is a gorgeous delight to knit. I used Ella Rae Lace Merino in Mustard.

There was a moment of panic and stalling when I got to the second sleeve and realized I was running low on yarn. Several people on Ravelry have mentioned that the skeins were less than 100 grams when they weighed them. I did not think to weigh the skeins and plunged in confidently because I had at least 200 yards to spare when I started. When I was about three inches from the end of the second sleeve I realized I would run out. I cast on some socks to comfort myself in the meantime.

What would become of the precious pockets, last to be knit? I found some in mustard available at Loops in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is not that far from me. I frantically called them and asked them to check the dye lot. I was not that lucky, but Pat and Gina were very kind and sent me a skein that arrived the next day. Since I was already knitting from two skeins throughout the project to avoid pooling, there was not a drastic difference in the sleeves, but when I look at the pockets (knit from just that new ball), I can tell that dye lot is much more green.

One problem I had with the project was a small ridge that formed as I switched yarn from ball to ball. This is in the back and can be seen in the picture above. This did not go away in blocking as I had hoped, but maybe it will in subsequent washes. The Ella Rae also grew a bit more than I expected when I wet blocked it. I smooshed (technical term) it into the measurements as much as I could, but I might try to dry it just a wee bit next time I wash it. The yarn label says it may be washed on gentle, so I may risk a tiny bit of drying too.

Other than a couple of small flaws, I love this piece. I loved the challenge of the deadline of NaKniSweMo to encourage me to finish something in a timely manner. I think as I get more experienced with knitting I’m better able to tell what kind of projects I will love to wear. Though this is over a mile of stockinette to knit, I really enjoyed the soothing motion, the gorgeous yellow green sliding through my fingers, and the finished product.

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