Several months back, Michaels had Patons Stretch Socks on clearance...clearance! Yes, I know it's not from a yarn store and it's not a high end sock yarn, but clearance? Clearance? I had to get some (ahem, 4 pairs worth).
But I wasn't sure how to deal with it, being stretch and all. Plus, I wasn't really in a sock knitting place at the time. But we're experiencing a few days of tropical heat and humidity, thus I am now very much in a sock knitting place.
Where to start? With the tried and true, of course. The Upstream Master Sock pattern from New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi.
The Pontoon Toe on the first sock came out a little loosey goosey because I was overly conscious of not overstretching the yarn, but I could easily fix that at the end with a spare length of yarn. After that, I just pretended the stretch didn't exist and knit like normal.
I think they turned out nicely. Because only I can expect to have freezing cold feet when the heat index is 100 F, I promptly put the socks on. They felt good and fit well but when I took them off, they looked like they might have become stretched out and loose along the sole. I think I'll hold off knitting any more of the yarn until I've washed these and worn them a couple times. Of course they need washing because wearing socks in my house is a sure sign that you will step on a blob of cookie dough - which I did.
The delay in knitting more of the Stretch Socks won't cramp my style, however. I have several more pairs-worth of regular non-stretchy sock yarn that is begging to be knit. I have a goal of a full drawer by the first frost.
All hail the socks!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Pure and Simple Carigan
So I wanted a cotton-y sweater that I could make and take along on our trip to Orlando in May. Will I need a sweater in Orlando in May? Maybe, maybe not, but I stil wanted one.
I fell in love with the Knitting Pure and Simple Neck-Down Shaped V-Neck Cardigan (#241). I decided on Cotton Ease because I like the yarn and there were some new colors. Cactus looked like it was it. I mean IT.
'Lo and behold, Michael's actually had these new colors. Cactus looked a little different than it had on my computer screen, a bit more muted, but it was nice and I still thought that color was IT. I bought 6 skeins and went for it.
I used 7's and 5's, just like the pattern recommended, but has a slightly larger gauge than the suggested 20 sts/inch so I felt comfortable choosing my exact bust size. And since it only has the tie closure, it didn't matter even if it were a little smaller.
The knitting went fast and it was turning out lovely. Until I tried it on. And really looked at my face instead of the sweater. The color makes my skin go just enough green to make me look like I'm ready for the grave. This was really disheartening since I'd had such high hopes for this sweater. I put it aside with only a few rows done on one sleeve.
After starting - and loving - a February Lady Sweater but needing something more mindless for TV watching one night, I decided to pick up the Cactus Cardi again and get it over with.
Though I consider this pattern to be overall well written and without errors, I did have to make the same adjustment that many people have made - fewer decreases on the sleeves. The sleeves actually start out quite wide and decrease fairly rapidly to a size that would be too tight for most people around the bicep/elbow area.
So I did the sleeve decreases as directed in the pattern, but I did one fewer decrease for my size - to 48 stitches. I knit 10 rounds even, then did increase round/4 rounds even for a total of 3 times. Then switch to the smaller needle, do 10 rounds of seed stitch, and bind off with larger needle knitwise. Perfect just-below-the-elbow sleeves.
Now that it's finished and I've had a chance to wear it in the wild, the color is still not ideal but not as bad as I'd originally thought. Color aside, it is a FANTASTIC cardigan! I love it. It's light, comfortable, fits perfectly, and my sleeve length is perfect for me. Nothing to get in the way or have to continually push up, perfect for when I'm knitting or working. Perfect.
In every way. You should make one. I'm making another in dark brown.
I fell in love with the Knitting Pure and Simple Neck-Down Shaped V-Neck Cardigan (#241). I decided on Cotton Ease because I like the yarn and there were some new colors. Cactus looked like it was it. I mean IT.
'Lo and behold, Michael's actually had these new colors. Cactus looked a little different than it had on my computer screen, a bit more muted, but it was nice and I still thought that color was IT. I bought 6 skeins and went for it.
I used 7's and 5's, just like the pattern recommended, but has a slightly larger gauge than the suggested 20 sts/inch so I felt comfortable choosing my exact bust size. And since it only has the tie closure, it didn't matter even if it were a little smaller.
The knitting went fast and it was turning out lovely. Until I tried it on. And really looked at my face instead of the sweater. The color makes my skin go just enough green to make me look like I'm ready for the grave. This was really disheartening since I'd had such high hopes for this sweater. I put it aside with only a few rows done on one sleeve.
After starting - and loving - a February Lady Sweater but needing something more mindless for TV watching one night, I decided to pick up the Cactus Cardi again and get it over with.
Though I consider this pattern to be overall well written and without errors, I did have to make the same adjustment that many people have made - fewer decreases on the sleeves. The sleeves actually start out quite wide and decrease fairly rapidly to a size that would be too tight for most people around the bicep/elbow area.
So I did the sleeve decreases as directed in the pattern, but I did one fewer decrease for my size - to 48 stitches. I knit 10 rounds even, then did increase round/4 rounds even for a total of 3 times. Then switch to the smaller needle, do 10 rounds of seed stitch, and bind off with larger needle knitwise. Perfect just-below-the-elbow sleeves.
Now that it's finished and I've had a chance to wear it in the wild, the color is still not ideal but not as bad as I'd originally thought. Color aside, it is a FANTASTIC cardigan! I love it. It's light, comfortable, fits perfectly, and my sleeve length is perfect for me. Nothing to get in the way or have to continually push up, perfect for when I'm knitting or working. Perfect.
In every way. You should make one. I'm making another in dark brown.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Essential Tank
Another chapter in the saga that is choosing the correct size...yet this one appears to be a success!
It's the Essential Tank from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. It is awesome!
I bought some Knit Picks Shine Sport in Violet from a fellow Raveler - 7 skeins to be exact. I don't even remember what I intended to make with it at first, but it couldn't have been anything that great. The yarn sat in my stash box FOREVER and was knit/crocheted/knit/frogged multiple times.
Until I got around to swatching for the Essential Tank, a design that really stood out to me in the book.
I labored over the decision of size. Now intellectually, I know that I'm really not overweight, but you see, I'm about 15 pounds over where I was even after my 3rd kid. This is disconcerting to me, hence I tend to fret over the notion that I'm much larger than I really am. Hence, I tend to make my sweaters and such much larger than they really need to be.
I'd already made Pink from the Custom Knits book and while I turned out great, it would have been better to knit it smaller. Yet at the time, I was utterly convinced I needed to make the large.
So I, with my 36" bust, thought I'd need to make this tank in the 36" size. Then I hung out on the Knit and Tonic Ravelry group for a while and read posts by Wendy herself saying that she likes everything with about 2" of negative ease and would recommend that for all the designs. That's just "how she rolls". I thought "you know what? That's how I roll too."
So I went with the 34" size. Turns out she knows what she's talking about and though I still would like to lose that 15 pounds, the tank looks pretty darn awesome!
The only problem is the neckline. I must have picked up the stitches a bit too tightly because there isn't a lot of stretch at the pick up line for the edging. I may rip it out, pick up the stitches with a larger needle, then reknit the edging with the smaller needle.
All in all though, I'd say this was a huge success!
It's the Essential Tank from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. It is awesome!
I bought some Knit Picks Shine Sport in Violet from a fellow Raveler - 7 skeins to be exact. I don't even remember what I intended to make with it at first, but it couldn't have been anything that great. The yarn sat in my stash box FOREVER and was knit/crocheted/knit/frogged multiple times.
Until I got around to swatching for the Essential Tank, a design that really stood out to me in the book.
I labored over the decision of size. Now intellectually, I know that I'm really not overweight, but you see, I'm about 15 pounds over where I was even after my 3rd kid. This is disconcerting to me, hence I tend to fret over the notion that I'm much larger than I really am. Hence, I tend to make my sweaters and such much larger than they really need to be.
I'd already made Pink from the Custom Knits book and while I turned out great, it would have been better to knit it smaller. Yet at the time, I was utterly convinced I needed to make the large.
So I, with my 36" bust, thought I'd need to make this tank in the 36" size. Then I hung out on the Knit and Tonic Ravelry group for a while and read posts by Wendy herself saying that she likes everything with about 2" of negative ease and would recommend that for all the designs. That's just "how she rolls". I thought "you know what? That's how I roll too."
So I went with the 34" size. Turns out she knows what she's talking about and though I still would like to lose that 15 pounds, the tank looks pretty darn awesome!
The only problem is the neckline. I must have picked up the stitches a bit too tightly because there isn't a lot of stretch at the pick up line for the edging. I may rip it out, pick up the stitches with a larger needle, then reknit the edging with the smaller needle.
All in all though, I'd say this was a huge success!
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Littlest Buddy has a New Hat!
Just in the nick of time too! I finished this on Monday, I think? Can't remember, don't want to check.
At any rate, I finished it in time for the arctic cold snap that dumped mega sub-zero temps and windchills on our lovely Minnesota landscape.
I used all stash yarn (yay for stash yarn!) - Patons Classic in Taupe and Forest, and Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Red Fox. The inside is taupe with red "flames" and the outside is red with camo (Forest) "flames". Buddy loves the red/camo side and I must agree. It's adorable!
And warm, which is the important thing when one has to catch the bus in -40 windchills. I made myself one too. It's the best!
Stay warm, people!
At any rate, I finished it in time for the arctic cold snap that dumped mega sub-zero temps and windchills on our lovely Minnesota landscape.
I used all stash yarn (yay for stash yarn!) - Patons Classic in Taupe and Forest, and Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Red Fox. The inside is taupe with red "flames" and the outside is red with camo (Forest) "flames". Buddy loves the red/camo side and I must agree. It's adorable!
And warm, which is the important thing when one has to catch the bus in -40 windchills. I made myself one too. It's the best!
Stay warm, people!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Brr
That's about all there is to say today. Right now, at 9:13 a.m. CST, it's -8 with a -28 windchill. That's up from a -35 windchill when the kids left for the bus. Eek.
So yesterday I made Thorpe, thinking that a Fair Isle 100% bulky wool earflap hat would be just the thing to keep me warm.
Dummy.
I'm still a rookie at stranded knitting so apparently I must not knit as tightly when doing color work as I do when knitting plain stuff. If I'd known that, I would not have gone up a needle size.
Everything went along very nicely and the hat looks great, but it's a bit too big. Which is weird since I measured gauge and was afraid it wouldn't be big enough.
The patterned section is a big too long and loose and the garter stitch is waaaay too loose. The cold air is flying right through those bad boys.
It is so cute though and I'm not willing to give up on it just yet.
Those mittens, on the other hand, were a huge success! They are the Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting - my first and possibly forever favorite knitting book. I had bits of 3 colors of Lamb's Pride Bulky leftover from my kids' felted clogs. When I knew the deep freeze was coming, I decided to cast on and see how far I got. Lo and behold, I was able to get two pairs out of the leftovers - one for me and one for a boy, any boy.
The mittens are fantastic. So fast, so cute, and so warm. They are, indeed, super!
So yesterday I made Thorpe, thinking that a Fair Isle 100% bulky wool earflap hat would be just the thing to keep me warm.
Dummy.
I'm still a rookie at stranded knitting so apparently I must not knit as tightly when doing color work as I do when knitting plain stuff. If I'd known that, I would not have gone up a needle size.
Everything went along very nicely and the hat looks great, but it's a bit too big. Which is weird since I measured gauge and was afraid it wouldn't be big enough.
The patterned section is a big too long and loose and the garter stitch is waaaay too loose. The cold air is flying right through those bad boys.
It is so cute though and I'm not willing to give up on it just yet.
Those mittens, on the other hand, were a huge success! They are the Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting - my first and possibly forever favorite knitting book. I had bits of 3 colors of Lamb's Pride Bulky leftover from my kids' felted clogs. When I knew the deep freeze was coming, I decided to cast on and see how far I got. Lo and behold, I was able to get two pairs out of the leftovers - one for me and one for a boy, any boy.
The mittens are fantastic. So fast, so cute, and so warm. They are, indeed, super!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Clogs Abound!
My twin brother showed up this past weekend for a visit. Yay! Even though he often is an arrogant jerk, it was nice to see him and the kids adore him. Want an example of arrogant jerk-i-ness?
Me: Would you like me to make some coffee now?
Him: Yes, please.
Me: Do you want regular, French vanilla, or cinnamon spice?
Him: Regular. (then after seeing that it was Folger's) Uh, wait, maybe this stuff will be ok (the cinnamon spice).
No, Jamie, I am not a coffee snob. I do not have the luxury of being single. Here's another example...I made an apple pie and he did not want any when the rest of us had some. A short time later...
Him: Hey, can I have some apple pie now?
Me: Sure.
Him: [blank stare and awkward moment] Umm, ok, I guess I'll get it myself.
Mom: Your arms aren't broken! Get up and get it yourself!
Now for a normal person, I would probably be the good hostess and serve the pie myself. But my brother is a jerk who thinks everyone needs to wait on him. He's 35 years old. Nope, not me. He can get his own darn pie!
Now the story of the clogs. I heard about Bro's visit a couple weeks before the fact. I thought a pair of clogs might be a nice gift for the kids to give him. I asked him if he'd want some, what colors would he like and what is his shoe size. Sure, he'd like some and how about MN Wild colors? That's our hockey team...red, green, gold.
Wait, what the heck is his shoe size? Darn brother! I sent another message (because forget trying to reach him by phone) but I had a good idea of his size so I went ahead and bought the yarn. I got Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Red Fox and Elf Green. 2 skeins each. I already had a nice gold at home that I'd dyed myself.
I bought the yarn on Wednesday. Got a text that night that Bro is a US size 9.5. Ok, good. Thursday got another text saying that he actually is more like a US size 9. Oye. I decided to go with the mens size medium and figured if I could get these suckers knit on Friday, I'd felt them early Saturday and pray the dryer would get them dry enough to give to him Saturday afternoon.
I knit like a madwoman on Friday, working just enough to satisfy my company that I wasn't slacking off. Soles and cuffs were done in green, two rounds of gold before the short rows of the foot, then red for the main part of the foot. I wove in the last end just before bedtime on Friday night. Whew!
At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, I consulted a few sock books and the tables with shoe sizes and foot lengths. I found the right length and got to felting. These felted up so nicely and got to the right size at the same time. I put them on the dryer rack and set it to medium heat. Got it all done in time to go watch my daughter's basketball games.
I kept the clogs in the dryer all afternoon. It was still running when my mom and brother arrived around 4:45 p.m. After saying hello and all that, the first thing he said was "so where are my MN Wild slippers? Huh? are they done?"
I walked silently into the laundry room, emerging with the perfectly dry and wonderful MN Wild Felted Clogs. They fit perfectly and he loved them. It also felt good that I didn't give him any ammunition to pick on me because I didn't finish something.
Not that it's ever happened before...
Me: Would you like me to make some coffee now?
Him: Yes, please.
Me: Do you want regular, French vanilla, or cinnamon spice?
Him: Regular. (then after seeing that it was Folger's) Uh, wait, maybe this stuff will be ok (the cinnamon spice).
No, Jamie, I am not a coffee snob. I do not have the luxury of being single. Here's another example...I made an apple pie and he did not want any when the rest of us had some. A short time later...
Him: Hey, can I have some apple pie now?
Me: Sure.
Him: [blank stare and awkward moment] Umm, ok, I guess I'll get it myself.
Mom: Your arms aren't broken! Get up and get it yourself!
Now for a normal person, I would probably be the good hostess and serve the pie myself. But my brother is a jerk who thinks everyone needs to wait on him. He's 35 years old. Nope, not me. He can get his own darn pie!
Now the story of the clogs. I heard about Bro's visit a couple weeks before the fact. I thought a pair of clogs might be a nice gift for the kids to give him. I asked him if he'd want some, what colors would he like and what is his shoe size. Sure, he'd like some and how about MN Wild colors? That's our hockey team...red, green, gold.
Wait, what the heck is his shoe size? Darn brother! I sent another message (because forget trying to reach him by phone) but I had a good idea of his size so I went ahead and bought the yarn. I got Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Red Fox and Elf Green. 2 skeins each. I already had a nice gold at home that I'd dyed myself.
I bought the yarn on Wednesday. Got a text that night that Bro is a US size 9.5. Ok, good. Thursday got another text saying that he actually is more like a US size 9. Oye. I decided to go with the mens size medium and figured if I could get these suckers knit on Friday, I'd felt them early Saturday and pray the dryer would get them dry enough to give to him Saturday afternoon.
I knit like a madwoman on Friday, working just enough to satisfy my company that I wasn't slacking off. Soles and cuffs were done in green, two rounds of gold before the short rows of the foot, then red for the main part of the foot. I wove in the last end just before bedtime on Friday night. Whew!
At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, I consulted a few sock books and the tables with shoe sizes and foot lengths. I found the right length and got to felting. These felted up so nicely and got to the right size at the same time. I put them on the dryer rack and set it to medium heat. Got it all done in time to go watch my daughter's basketball games.
I kept the clogs in the dryer all afternoon. It was still running when my mom and brother arrived around 4:45 p.m. After saying hello and all that, the first thing he said was "so where are my MN Wild slippers? Huh? are they done?"
I walked silently into the laundry room, emerging with the perfectly dry and wonderful MN Wild Felted Clogs. They fit perfectly and he loved them. It also felt good that I didn't give him any ammunition to pick on me because I didn't finish something.
Not that it's ever happened before...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Hourglass turned Equinox
Yay for me! Rah rah rah rah! Wheee!
Finally something I can wear and be happy with!
As you may remember, I knit the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts last November-December. It went smooth as silk, looked fantastic, fit perfectly - except for one problem. The hemmed neckline was touching my neck and I hate that. HATE.
I have not worn it and did not want to wear it so I set out to figure out how to make it into something I could love again. My yearning to do fair isle led me to the decision to rip out the yoke and do some kind of circular pattern using the EPS.
I was nervous about ripping the neck hem but last Wednesday I needed something to do while on a conference call for work (shhh, don't tell) so I grabbed the sweater and a scissors and started to rip. I took out the entire raglan yoke back to a round above the sleeve join.
After an exhaustive search through my patterns, I decided that the Equinox Yoke Pullover by Michele Rose Orne from the Fall '06 Interweave Knits was the best fit, needing a decrease of only 2 stitches to make it work.
Recently I discovered where Walmart hid the Lion Wool - in the clearance aisle for $2.50 a ball! I bought the remaining 8 skeins of Winter White and went to town with the Kool-Aid and Wilton Icing Dyes. That little dyeing spree, plus another a couple months prior gave me plenty of colors to choose from. I grabbed a few that I knew would look nice with the Sapphire Heather main color and dove in.
The colorwork went surprisingly smoothly. This was my first attempt at fair isle in a garment and only the second time ever. I find it funny that I can't knit Continental, yet I can do fair isle with two hands no problem.
Another thing I liked about this yoke pattern was that it incorporated the main color and had perfectly spaced areas of straight knitting with the main color. The EPS worked supremely well with this design. I did a 25% decrease for the 1st decrease round, 33% for the second, then instead of another 33% for the 3rd decrease, I did 25% to leave a slightly wider neckline. After the last decrease, I did 2 rounds of 2x2 rib, then bound off in rib.
I love the result! I have the great fitting sweater body from the Hourglass Sweater, and the great fitting yoke using the EPS - and it looks gorgeous because of the lovely Equinox pattern.
The one thing that I'm not sure about is the neckline and the only thing there is that it's the same on the front and back. I would rather prefer it to be higher in the back. Wish I'd thought of that before doing the yoke, but live and learn. I may take out the bind off and try to add some short rows, but we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm quite proud of how my first fair isle project turned out!
Finally something I can wear and be happy with!
As you may remember, I knit the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts last November-December. It went smooth as silk, looked fantastic, fit perfectly - except for one problem. The hemmed neckline was touching my neck and I hate that. HATE.
I have not worn it and did not want to wear it so I set out to figure out how to make it into something I could love again. My yearning to do fair isle led me to the decision to rip out the yoke and do some kind of circular pattern using the EPS.
I was nervous about ripping the neck hem but last Wednesday I needed something to do while on a conference call for work (shhh, don't tell) so I grabbed the sweater and a scissors and started to rip. I took out the entire raglan yoke back to a round above the sleeve join.
After an exhaustive search through my patterns, I decided that the Equinox Yoke Pullover by Michele Rose Orne from the Fall '06 Interweave Knits was the best fit, needing a decrease of only 2 stitches to make it work.
Recently I discovered where Walmart hid the Lion Wool - in the clearance aisle for $2.50 a ball! I bought the remaining 8 skeins of Winter White and went to town with the Kool-Aid and Wilton Icing Dyes. That little dyeing spree, plus another a couple months prior gave me plenty of colors to choose from. I grabbed a few that I knew would look nice with the Sapphire Heather main color and dove in.
The colorwork went surprisingly smoothly. This was my first attempt at fair isle in a garment and only the second time ever. I find it funny that I can't knit Continental, yet I can do fair isle with two hands no problem.
Another thing I liked about this yoke pattern was that it incorporated the main color and had perfectly spaced areas of straight knitting with the main color. The EPS worked supremely well with this design. I did a 25% decrease for the 1st decrease round, 33% for the second, then instead of another 33% for the 3rd decrease, I did 25% to leave a slightly wider neckline. After the last decrease, I did 2 rounds of 2x2 rib, then bound off in rib.
I love the result! I have the great fitting sweater body from the Hourglass Sweater, and the great fitting yoke using the EPS - and it looks gorgeous because of the lovely Equinox pattern.
The one thing that I'm not sure about is the neckline and the only thing there is that it's the same on the front and back. I would rather prefer it to be higher in the back. Wish I'd thought of that before doing the yoke, but live and learn. I may take out the bind off and try to add some short rows, but we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm quite proud of how my first fair isle project turned out!
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