Christina's knitting page

Well....

2006-10-05T18:35:00.000-04:00

...it's official. My blog is moving homes. Please update your bookmarks/feeds to www.christinaslattery.com/blog if you wish to keep up with my knitting ventures. Blogger, you've been good, but I much prefer managing things in my own webspace! Layout-wise, I'm not done, but my content is moved there!

See you all on the other side! :)

Just in time....

2006-09-05T23:55:00.000-04:00

One year ago today, I started this blog. I think I've had quite a lot to say in the past year, and it's made me realise just how far I've come in that time. Not only in knitting, but in life too. I'm really glad I stuck with this idea, and I hope to continue it for quite a long time. The blog will be moving soon thanks to a very generous and wonderful friend who was able to hook me up with some webspace, so I will keep my readers posted (the few of you that there are). Once I'm done with my dissertation (10 days to go!) I will put my energy into this project.

Happy birthday blog! :)

Quick project

2006-09-04T23:42:00.000-04:00

Mary Jane slippers:

Pattern: Julie Carter's Plain Janes
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino...maybe 2/3 of the skein

Very quick knit, even for my very slow ways. I messed up a little bit and as a consequence the little "seam" made from switching between the knitting and purling ended up on the right side of both slippers. I blame it on my dissertation-related brain damage. But I'm quite happy with them, and they're very warm! I need to decide if I want to put some non-skid stuff on the bottom, but I confess to being enticed by having something I can skate around smoothe surfaces with. *blush*

DW pattern is now available in Spanish!

2006-09-04T15:16:00.000-04:00

I got an email from a woman in Spain, Carla, who asked me if she could translate my wrist warmer pattern so she can post it for Spanish knitters. I thought this was a lovely idea, and I'm happy to say that it is now available to download in PDF format HERE.

Thank you very much, Carla!

ETA: I have also fixed a few things in my original pattern including a much nicer looking chart, so please download the new one if you want to see the latest version!

Wrist Warmers!

2006-08-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

Yay, they're done!

The pattern was tricky to write up, but I got it in the end. It's currently residing here.

Yarn: Peru DK Luxury Alpaca (80% Merino, 20% Alpaca, 10% Silk), 2 50g balls, 200 yards
Needles: US 4 dpns (3.5mm), set of four OR long circ for the magic loop
Gauge: 3 inches=20 sts

Notes: It took a lot of swatches, a lot of graph paper, and a lot of counting stitches from various screen grabs to come up with the proper dimensions for this. That said, the final gauge came very tight overall and the diamonds appear a little smaller, but that was the only way I could get the twist cables on the sides to sit on my hand properly. Looking back at the pictures (which can be seen in the original post linked at the top of this one), her gloves are a much looser fit. The original gloves could possibly be knitted in a sport weight yarn rather than the DK, or even still with DK but on size US5/3.75mm, but I wanted something nice and snug.

The twist cables on the side are also not accurate - this was an honest oversight. I started knitting while the chart was still a work in progress, and when I *thought* I had it right, just continued knitting them as I had first written them down. I have adapted this on the pattern chart, mainly because with the proper spacing it makes for a perfect repeating pattern. If you want your twist cables to look like mine, then just ignore those columns on the chart and cross your cable every fourth row.

What I learned:
Cables: This was the first time I tried to write a pattern with cables. I learned that you must have a purl stitch on either side of the cable to make it stand out. On some level, I'm sure I knew this having knitted cables before, but now I will definitely remember it!
The Magic Loop: This pattern works well on dpns, but I wanted to try the magic loop too. I thought it would be better so that there weren't any gaps between the cables (these fall exactly on either side of the first needle which holds the diamond motif), and that it would be better for the knitting overall. It worked very well, but I found I knitted much more slowly. If this technique works for you, I wrote the pattern for this method as well.

Other thoughts: These were a LOT of fun! Once I understood how the diamond cable worked, I barely had to look at the chart. It was completely worth the time and effort to come up with the pattern because I'm thrilled with the result. If anyone tries this out and spots any errors or other issues, please let me know - my email address is at the bottom of the pattern.

Doctor Who wrist warmer, Part 1

2006-08-24T19:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the first wrist warmer is done. I'm rather pleased with it!

This one was done on 4 dpns. It worked out fine, but it was a lot of needles to handle when the cable needle was in play, and a bit hard on my hands. The second one has been cast on with my a long circular, marking first foray into the magic loop method. It was a bit fiddly at first, but I'm getting the hang of it. It's better for the distribution of the cables too, as each one isn't on its own needle. I'm anxious to finish it so that I can post the pattern. The chart is finally accurate (after MANY drafts), but the twisty cable on the side can't be written on a repeating chart since they're done every 4th row and the chart has an odd number of rows.

Lace Gloves, Part 1

2006-08-18T22:59:00.000-04:00

I came upon some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. It's sooo soft and I just thought, "This would make a great pair of gloves." It was crying out for something simple but beautiful, and sadly, none of the patterns out there could please me. So what do we do in this instance? Make one up! I pulled out my mother's stitchionary and came across the Travelling Vine stitch. It was easy to adapt it to an in-the-round pattern, so after a little experimenting, off I went! I wanted a long glove too - this took just about the entire ball of yarn. I borrowed techniques for the thumb gusset and fingers from at least two other patterns. I wrote everything down, so when I'm done with the second one, I might put the pattern up.

Modelled on my hand - you can't really see all the holes clearly...you really have to click for the bigger picture to appreciate it.

Close up of the back stitches:

The whole thing after a bit of blocking:

A lesson on colour accuracy...

2006-08-14T18:55:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm a little disillusioned. This is the yarn I ordered from Knipicks - Elegance in the Wild Rose colourway (70% baby alpaca, 30% silk).

Now, that looks beautiful, but here we have the picture with the flash, which is mostly what it looks like:

This is a picture in the natural light - much different:

I *suppose* they did the best job they could photographing it. Looking at the natural light picture does look mostly similar to the photo they posted (which is what I prefer) but in the incandescent light, it's disconcertingly magenta. I'm going to use it anyway because I don't think I'll be able to find better, but it's just not what I expected. The wool itself is completely luxurious and strokable though. Plus, I will normally be wearing wristwarmers outside, won't I?

I figured it out!

2006-08-10T00:03:00.000-04:00

I am so pleased...I have figured out the pattern for that wrist warmer!

It's a much fatter gauge here than it will be for the real thing, but it's just a test swatch! I need to get some DK...an order from Knitpicks will take care of that. The cable was different than any cable I've tried before, and it was a little tricky to grasp but once I sussed how it worked it was easy to just carry on...the diamond in this swatch is only 11 sts wide, whereas I believe the proper one is 21 sts wide. (I've got loads of screengrabs from a friend, and I've seen every angle possible to try to count!)

For anyone reading who doesn't know what I'm doing, this is the wrist warmer in question. (I do hope this isn't disallowed by BBC copyright...no infringement is intended.)

The side cable is just a simple 3x3 twist, and all that's really left to figure out is how many stitches around I'd have to cast on with DK, and where to start the thumb gusset (not pictured). Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward, I think. The diamonds repeat 4 times down the length of the glove, and I think there is some thick ribbing at the bottom in another shot I saw. I know it doesn't have to be exact, but I'm quite smitten with these and want it to be as close as possible!

Opal socks are DONE!

2006-08-07T23:23:00.000-04:00

The angle makes my feet look gigantic! Anyway, I can't believe I did the entire foot part of the sock in two evenings. I'm thrilled that they're done, and I love how they turned out. They don't match, but I'm not anal enough to care.

So this opens doors for a few things. I have two sets of sock yarns that I need to find patterns for next. I'm going to refer to my copy of Sensational Knitted Socks, of course. I'm tempted to try Grumperina's Jaywalkers, but EVERYone has made them! SKS has a chevron style pattern so I might do that with my Lorna's Laces Childsplay since it will show off the stripiness. The other pair will be fair isle with some stuff I got from Knitpicks but I haven't even thought of a pattern yet.

Also, I intend to work out the pattern for the wrist warmers that Billie Piper wore in the latest episode of Doctor Who. They're cute, they use cables in a young-and-hip sort of way, and I'm in the market for nice wrist warmers. Fingerless gloves are SO my thing too. Can't wait to start!

Opal update...

2006-08-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

I really put my mind to it and made a fantastic dent in that Opal sock today. I was just at the beginning of the gusset decreases and now I'm half-way up the foot. One or two more evenings' hard work and they will be done and dusted. Then I can do more socks! :D

What I've been up to...

2006-08-02T23:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I did go on holiday for a week, so that is a good reason not to have posted...but the rest of the time it's been a combination of business and laziness. So here goes...

I made two shining star hats for my friends' kids. Both little girls, but one of them is not into the frilly pink like the other. I think she'll be pleased with what I chose:

The star, of course:

And then...there was lace. I acquired some Hipknits' laceweight silk at the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia in the spring. I don't know if it's because I didn't wind it into a ball straight away, but my GOD this stuff is difficult. It's all twisted and kinky and it drives me nuts. However I will persevere if only to have a lovely silk shawl that will make me feel beautiful when I wear it.

So check this out. I finally understand why people block stuff. I knitted a swatch to test the pattern out (located here). I wet blocked it and used pins to hold it to shape while it dried. It's been fairly abused since then (as I wanted to see how it would hold its shape after it was off the pins) and it's taken it rather well. It has a lovely feel and drape. It looks like this:

So far, not too bad right? Pffft. This is what it looks like on my needles:

What is that you say? Chicken wire? (A dear friend of mine used that word to describe this yarn...she couldn't be more right.) I think it's because the silk is so weightless that it can't help bounce back up on itself. So, it's pretty hard to tell where I am in the pattern which has a 16 row repeat...I've had to use a row counter and stitch markers just to make sure I don't screw up. Now look at the two next to each other:

So it'll be a little difficult to tell how long it is when I'm working on it. I'll keep knitting till I'm sick of it or I run out of yarn. If I can do one or two repeats an evening and put it aside every so often, it'll come along. I hope to be able to post more regularly as I work on this stuff, but I'm in the middle of my dissertation right now. It cuts seriously into my knitting time. >:(

Pedicure sock

2006-07-04T23:47:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the first of two, obviously. The second one is halfway done!

I have wanted something like this for a really long time...yes, before they posted that pattern on Knitty. I tend to paint my toes all year round but it's difficult in the winter when it's cold! I don't usually like long socks, so I made these anklets. I used Dacning sock yarn from Knitpicks in the Tap colourway on 2.25mm/US1 dpns. I didn't follow a specific pattern, but took ideas from a few different ones. I wasn't sure about a toe seperator but figured it would be a good idea after all, so there is a tiny 3 stitch I-cord between my big and second toes.

Look, it's a short row heel! A whole one! No heel flap! No picking up stitches! There are two minor holes near the top of the short rows because those are the first stitches I wrapped, and I must've done them wrong. The second sock is not suffering in this manner, I'm happy to say.

A picture of the sock in my new big pink fuzzy slippers. I don't usually go for pink, especially if the something is big and fuzzy, but the shop didn't have the blue ones in my size! :( But I do love the slippers...and as you can see, they'd make excellent pedicure slippers!

Very happy with this project...the second sock should be done by tomorrow or the next day at the latest. Excellent. In other knitting news, I've started a second Saturday Market Bag for my 10-year-old cousin as she was completely enamoured with mine when I brought it over with my swimming gear in it. I've wanted to make her something, so this is probably the easiest thing she could have asked me for. I did the front panel already, gotta finish the back one. Oh yeah, and I have done a few more rows on the second Opal sock. *stares guiltily at the Opal sock progress bar* Yeah, that's been there for a while...I hope to take that with me on my holiday because it'll be nice and small and transportable.

After all this, I want to do my lace project. I have decided to do the Wave and Shell Shawl as a nice wrap for the autumn and that would be a nice transportable project too.

Saturday Market Bag

2006-06-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

This project went so quickly! (Pattern)
I used 1 1/2 skeins of Lily Sugar n' Cream 100% cotton. I'd love to say that the lilac stripe at the bottom was part of a grand plan, but it was only because I ran out of the grape yarn. Since there needed to be a band at the top of the bag anyway, it really wasn't such a big crisis! I think it looks rather cool.

A close up of the stitches:

The lace stitch was a little frustrating to get used to - psso's are not my most favourite things. But eventually I realised the rows of this stitch were over practically the minute they began, so I tried not to let it get to me. Alterations - I didn't seam the two sides together, I crocheted them. It was miles quicker than fumbling with a needle and yarn. I also put two more rows of garter stitch at the top to even out the look of the stripe on the bottom. Oh, and instead of working the handle from both sides and grafting them together at the top, I made one long handle and grafted it at the other side.

I think I would make another one of these - this way if I go market shopping I can have plenty of room. At the moment, I think I'll have it function as a beach bag. I should take a photo of something in it because it really S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-S when you put stuff in it.

2006-06-08T23:11:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've been very lax in my posting these days. It's a sorrowful thing. My computer and card reader have been living in different rooms, and generally when they're in the same room the computer is pretending to be a region 2 DVD player. I will endeavour to be more conscientious!

Anyway, here is my latest project on the needles:

(Blimey, that looks washed out...)
It's Rowan All-Seasons Cotton in the Dusky colourway, and that is a crossed-stitch basketweave stitch...they look like mini cables, but they're not really. It's a lot of fun, although time consuming. It was going to be the bolero on the cover of Simply Knitting from two months ago, but since I swatched the yarn in garter stitch and ended up using this stitch, the gauge is way off. By about one third. Yeah.
New plan! So, as it does fit nicely around my waist and I'd hate to rip out all that work, I'm going to make my own version of a bolero from the waist-up instead of neck-down. I want to do the one in SK as well, but I'm worried about having enough of this yarn so I'm just going to change tracks. I don't expect it will be too hard to make a pattern...I don't want it to fit like a proper cardigan, rather, something that you throw on over a vest or a t-shirt when you just want to be a little warmer...but not a shrug. And open-front cardigan. Am I repeating myself? Anyway...I'm excited.

Here is the only problem....look at the left side. It's beautiful. A perfect straight line. It's not even curling. Only, on the right side....

...we have horrible loopiness. I didn't see it becoming a problem until I got too far in.

The reason for this, I think, is that on the left side, I'm finishing on a purl stitch. On the right side, I start by knitting the second stitch first. So, the first is never properly anchored. I'll hide this by picking up stitches to do a border, but in the future I know to alter the pattern to include a selvedge. Live and learn. It's a really nice stitch, and I think it will look fantastic when it's blocked (I hope).

In other knitting news, I made two more Shining Star hats...to be photographed imminently. Oh yeah, and I want to play with my blog layout soon. Too much pink on this one.

First rows...

2006-05-15T18:20:00.000-04:00

First rows are always the most painful of any project. So, why would any pattern suggest a lace stitch that involves putting the needle through three loops at a time on the FIRST row? Well, I did try...got through three repeats before I decided it wasn't worth the struggle. Instructions be damned, I'm starting on a freakin purl row.

Beach Cover!

2006-05-09T18:58:00.000-04:00

It's done! I thought it would be impossible, but it wasn't! It all came together in the end! It took exactly 4 balls of Patons Katrina. I used size 15 (12.75 mm) needles for the skirt, and size 11 (8 mm) for the top part. The i-cord straps were on size 8 (5mm) DPNs. I didn't do any decreasing from the skirt to the bodice as the change in needle size took care of that for me.

Here is the whole thing as is laid out on the floor. The armpits look strange...maybe I should get a shot of the top with it on my body. It does look perfectly natural when it's on!

The bottom of the skirt. I crocheted the scallop edge. It really, REALLY helped bring the finished look together. I was ready to declare it done before I added the border but it just didn't look right.

A close up...this yarn is difficult to photograph as it's ridiculously shiny!

The top. Again, too shiny to see much detail, but all the edges are finished off with one line of single crochet (double crochet if you're British!) and the neckline is one line of a crochet mesh stitch. I thought it could use a bit of lace at the top but I couldn't get it to look right knitted...so that's when I got carried away with the crochet hook!

In the end, this really was a lot of fun. I'm really excited to wear it to Aruba. I still have one entire ball of yarn left. Aruba is very windy so I might knit something to wear on my head to keep my hair in place. A headband or kercheif or something. Not to sure!

Moebius Scarf

2006-05-09T18:43:00.000-04:00

This was an impromptu project. The pattern was in Simply Knitting, April 2006 issue. The clever thing about this Moebius is that it wasn't knitted and then grafted in a twist...it's actually knitted in a twist using a special cast-on technique. It was lots of fun! The yarn is Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in the Desert Flower colourway. I saw it from across the room and it was love at first sight...sad, but true. It was really gorgeous to work with...

I went to the Get Knitted warehouse in Bristol this past weekend for their monthly open house. I got this yarn as well as 7 balls of Rowan All-Seasons Cotton for £2 each. It is a charcoal colour...don't have one on me to see the exact name! I want to make a cardigan out of it...next on my to-do list is to swatch it and see what the gauge is like!

Baby hat!

2006-04-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

This is the baby hat I made a couple of weeks ago. I did it in one evening. The pattern is rather standard based on other hats, but I did figure out the heart chart and its proper spacing on my own. First step into pattern designing, I suppose! I used Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton DK on 4mm dpns.

Very shiny:

A more clear shot of the hearts...it looks better in real life, I promise.

To be honest, it came rather bigger than I wanted. It's not quite a toddler size, but not newborn either. I did a 108 CO, whereas most other baby hats used between 80-100 in this weight yarn. 80 was just TOO small, and even 100 didn't look quite right, but I do have to remember that it will expand as it moves downward off the needles! I think taking it down 12 stitches (which was my pattern repeat) would have been better for a smaller baby like I had intended it for. Live and learn.

:(

2006-04-17T18:25:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated in a while. This is not because I have stopped knitting. I am currently studying for my bastard exams. I would expect normal service to return once said bastard exams are over.

In knitting news, I made an impromptu baby hat that I made up as I went along. I took pics but haven't uploaded them at all. My second opal sock is about 1/4 done, and the beach cover is somewhere in the lower-torso area (working my way up). I have lots of ideas on how I want to finish this...here's hoping they're feasible! I'm looking for a new project too...have had to resist buying yarn on several occasions for the sole reson that I just am not sure what I want to do next. I'd like to tackle something wearable for myself, funds permitting. A variation on the shimmer shrug is tempting...same back pattern, but full length and more fabric on the front so that it's more cardigan-like. But I'm just not sure enough to go ahead with it yet.

I went to John Lewis with a friend recently and neither of us could get over how many horrible patterns there really are out there. The only thing to do is to create unique patterns, but it would take a lot of patience and a decent blend of techniques that are out there. Although this is a little personal for a knitting blog, my real fear is that I will look horrible in whatever I try to make. I'm not an easy size to fit (rather awkward, larger-than-normal dimensions) and I would fear that all my hard work will be for naught once all is said and done. Ho hum. So it's a question of, what is the right garment for me and how do I make sure it fits?

Mrs Beetons

2006-04-04T09:07:00.000-04:00

Finished, yay!

Both together.

Modeled by moi. It's hard to see the beads unless you click the pic to see the larger version. They're dark purple on the bell edging and clear ones where they are joined.

All in all, quite easy once you've threaded the beads. Attaching the bells was kind of fun. The picot bind off appealed to me less and less as I went on with it. Maybe I did something wrong, I don't know...but trying to pass the second stitch over the third after casting it on cablewise was a pain in the rear. It must be done very loosely otherwise much swearing at the needles will occur. You have been warned!

My housemate and her sister are both very jealous of these. I could make myself very popular if only yarn didn't cost money. Or if I had some spare bits from old projects here with me. I have leftover yarn from both, but the grey is nearly done. I am going to think about making myself a very thin scarf out of it because alpaca silk should be cuddled. Maybe I'll add purple edging and beads to the scarf! Ooh! I can be trendy, I can!

That was fast...

2006-03-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

I finished the one wristwarmer last night. It didn't even take two full evenings! It's very pretty! I have yet to weave in ends (oh, what a loathesome task!!!! though there's not that many for this project) so it wasn't worth taking a photo of just yet. I really do like it though. I threaded the beads for the second one last night, but didn't even finish casting on becuase I was too tired.

Mrs Beetons

2006-03-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

They've been started. The beaded cast-on was fun at first, but got tedious as the yarn started curling on itself from all the pulling. Something happened with my join I think, or something got twisted because the first row sort of disappears into the main colour. I can't figure out why, and if it weren't for the beads, I'd just cast on again. I might be able to fix it though...I was too tired to figure it out rationally when I did do it. They're grey and lilac-ish. I ordered the grey from Knitpicks and was hoping they'd be more bluey-grey than they are (there is the slightest green tinge), but it actually looks fine. The small beads are a dark purple, and the larger beads are a clear crystal. I'm excited about them...I'm wondering if they'll be surrendered to my sister or if I'll keep them for myself! Only time will tell. Watch this space....

Comments...

2006-03-28T14:30:00.000-05:00

I did not realise that I had this blog set to only accept comments from registered users. I have disabled this now, so anyone can comment, but the secret word thing has got to stay to avoid comment spam. So, please comment if you were not able to before!

The Shimmer

2006-03-28T13:17:00.000-05:00

I ended up getting this done quite quickly. That's what living in a hostel can do to you.

Ok, so here we go....first, a close up of the front. The ribbing looks pretty good but I had to pick up the stitches THREE times...(long story).

Overview of the back. I love how it turned out. The colours are nicely distributed. Except for the one row of wonky diamonds, I love it.

A look at the texture.

Pulled back view of the front

The side view...this was the best way to see all parts of it together. THe sleeves are so much longer than the back that it looks comical. Love the sleeves.

All in all, I liked doing this. I thought the pattern could have explained a bit more. Skill-wise I didn't find it all that difficult, so I don't understand why a "complicated" pattern also had to be complicated to read, if you see what I mean. The thing that took the most fiddling is when you start the raglan decreases, you also have to decrease the lozenge pattern on the back. You must figure this out on your own, you see...hence the one row of wonky diamonds. Next time I attempt a pattern like this, I might try to practise on scrap yarn first.

Brief Shimmer-related mental freak out

2006-03-22T19:02:00.000-05:00

So, I was doing great! I finished an entire repeat of the lozenge stitch, it was looking beautiful...only six more rows till I could add the sleeves! I thought I would read ahead and see how I was going to get those sleeves attached.

Suddenly, I thought I made a big mistake. I thought, "hmm...maybe I should have taken that 'piquant' rating a leeetle more seriously before I dove into it thinking I could knit whatever I wanted." I just spent the last 20 minutes or so completely panicking that I would not be able to figure out how this was going to work...

...and suddenly the light dawned. It became clear! It was one of those cases where I had envisioned it entirely differently and I just had to break away from that image to understand what was going on. Whew!

Now I wish it were three hours earlier so that I wouldn't have to go to bed now and I could jusitfy working on it for a while longer. Boo.

So, how about a picture?

The colours are patterning themselves interestingly! I think it's going to look really cool! Please disregard the peek of horrible hotel bedspread. It's not going to be in my life much longer, thankfully. Roll on Monday!

Sleeves done!

2006-03-21T17:28:00.000-05:00

Both sleeves are now done! It's too late to even cast on the back piece, but I'm excited that that is what I can do tomorrow!
Here is a pic of the lower parts of both sleeves. They sort of match, but not really:

I think they do look sort of cool. It's not the kind of thing where it seems important that they match exactly. She works in fashion...anything goes!

Progress...

2006-03-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

I have finished the first sleeve on the Shimmer shrug. No pics for the time being as I have no internet connection at home. Give this a week or so and normal service will resume. I'm pretty happy with how it came out, but I stupidly was increasing every 10th row and not every 9th. I don't even want to get in to how this happened...it was sheerly my own stupidity and the fact that I can not count. But it'll be fine I'm sure. My sister, by her own proclaimation, has abnormally long arms so the increases are probably better spaced for a longer sleeve anyway. So, I'm about 4 or 5 inches into the second sleeve. I'm liking it, but I'm excited to start work on the back piece.

Sock 1 done...

2006-03-09T16:25:00.000-05:00

I finished the first sock, I've cast on for the second one and have done about 10 rows of ribbing. I have a lot of things I want to work on, so I'll probably do this one a little at a time. I just realised how many projects I've done in the round recently. The first baby hat, the pinwheel blanket, the two shining stars, the beach cover, the sleeves for the shrug are done in the round...I'm by no means opposed to this, but I should find something flat to knit just for the sake of it! I've a distinct feeling that this will not happen soon since the other two things I've been hankering after are wristwarmers and gloves...even if I got around to doing that carry-all bag, that's done in the round too! I expect that these things will go in phases.

The beach cover

2006-03-01T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here is is so far:

I'm doing it in the round on size 17 (12.75mm) needles...(yes, the snow melted and I was able to get them!) I've been going very slowly on it because I have had other things occupying me, but last night it made a huge jump in length and now I'm really excited about it. The main reason I was lethargic is because I was just guessing the cast-on based on a swatch done on straight needles (I know, I know, you shouldn't do that!) and I was afraid it wasn't going to fit me. So, last night I threaded a piece of waste yarn through the loops and took it off the needles so I could step into it. It's fine! So, now I know that, I can go forward.

Here is a better look at the lace stitch:

It is now going very consistently...the bottom has a few messups because some of the holes seem to travel a bit. I had considered starting again, but I sooo don't think anyone will ever notice and it probably is unaffected all in all. It looks a bit wobbly in that pic because it's very elastic yarn and, well, I couldn't be bothered to straighten it out for the purpose of this. Maybe when it's done, we'll see! I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was thinking about my next step already. I still have a ways to go with the skirt because I want it to cover my gelatnous thighs but I'm trying to fathom how I will do the top. I have some ideas, so later when I am allowed to obsess over knitting (right now, I should be studying) I will look at some patterns for guidance. I also want to do another test swatch to figure out my decreases for the waist/bodice. I might just switch to smaller needles and go from there, or I might do a few gather-like decreases. I must play with it.

Shining Stars

2006-03-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is the first Shining Star. I think it took me over an hour and at least 10 tries to start this. My needles were big, heavy, shiny metal which just would NOT cooperate! Finally I caved and cast on the same way I did for the pinwheel blanket. I altered the bottom of the hat to add the pink ruffle. I did two rows of the brim in pink, and then just kfb'ed in all stitches for two rounds.

Side view: I like the laciness of the "rays". It was hard to get a good picture of this yarn because it was so shiny. I have no idea what yarn it is...I found it in my mother's stash, but if I were to guess, I'd say it's Caron Simply Soft. Yes, nasty acrylic...but this one is rather nice as far as acrylics go.

Now, for take two: observe the homemade mini knitting needles! These were fabulous, weightless, and very grabby...perfect for the tiny cast on! I must make more of these in different sizes because, hey, you never know. They're not oiled or anything, just sanded for now. But it was good enough. I worked with these until there were 8 or so stitches on each needle and then switched to the normal ones.

Top and side views of the boy's hat. Since the Bernat Cottontots worked out so well for the Anouk dress, I was anxious to work with it again. So, here it is in blueberry.

So, all in all, I love this pattern! I like working with DPN's, and starting at the top and increasing was pretty damn cool. I'd make this again, maybe in a larger size for my 9 year old cousin if she would like one. Something pretty and sparkly would suit her.

More baby things...

2006-02-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

My two friends each have babies. One is 9 months, the other is a newborn. I'm making each of them a Shining Star. I finished the first one yesterday and I'm most of the way through the second one today. I also made myself a set of 6 3-inch wooden DPNs. After wrestling with the teeny tiny cast on from the first hat, I realised that the main problem was the length and weight of the DPNs...also the fact that they were slippery as hell! The wood likes to grab the yarn so I didn't have needles slipping out all over the place, and they were very small and easy to work with. I took a pic of the hat when there were only about 8 stitches on each needle...but as usual, it's going to have to wait till tomorrow. Yeah, I'm lazy.

The poor neglected Opal sock.

2006-02-23T15:32:00.000-05:00

The poor little thing. It will be finished soon. And its twin will be not far behind!

Clapotis/2

2006-02-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is the truest pic I can get that captures the colours. All the other ones I took look washed out. I think it's because of the sheen on it; it just reflects rather pale!

Close up of the stitches:

The whole thing draped on the sofa:

It's one less repeat wide, and two less repeats long. I didn't buy enough yarn. Luckily, I was able to gague what I had well enough not to run out! This one is for me, so I can't wait to wear it!

Pinwheel blanket

2006-02-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

It is lovely, no? The edge is crocheted for a bit of a picot look. I think I bound off a little tightly, so it wouldn't lie completely flat. This is a case for using a bigger needle to do the bind off!

The startled recipient! You can also see the hat with the red rosette added on.

Anouk + goodies

2006-02-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

I used Bernat cottontots 100% cotton yarn in Strawberry, Limeberry, and Grapeberry. The flowers were done in some leftover LionBrand Microspun. I was hesitant to use a different yarn, but it gives the FO some texture. At first I was a little disappointed to use a non-shiny yarn (I had considered adjusting gague to Knitpicks' Shine) but it turns out it acquires a sheen of its own. I really quite like it.

The left pocket isn't weird, I just forgot to smoothe it out.

Little sock-like booties and a hat. (pattern) There will be a red rosette on the brim, but I haven't done it yet.

The ensemble.

The WIP pinwheel blanket. I'm going to do it until the yarn runs out. Or something. It makes me laugh because it looks like a Rastafarian hat so far!

Done with Anouk!

2006-02-11T20:03:00.000-05:00

Anouk is done, save sewing on the buttons. I even made matching socks...and if it weren't for the snow, I'd have the proper sized DPNs and circs to make the matching hat. Ah well...all in good time. Pics tomorrow.

I have now started (casually) on a beach cover up. I'm just playing around right now. I'm not even sure that what I'm doing is going to work. Right now I'm doing the skirt in a lace pattern on size 17 (11 mm) needles. I wanted to do this in the round, but again, I lack the circs due to the poxy snow. I suppose I could have waited and finished, say, the clapotis or basketweave scarf...but I like to play. Doing it flat may have fashionable advantages though. Asymmetry might help hide the massive amounts of flab. Anyway, I'm not concerned right now.

WIP - Anouk

2006-02-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

So far, so good! Just did the gather at the top of the skirt on the second piece. Just have to finish the bodice. Then attaching, pockets, tabs, etc...

That was fast!

2006-02-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

I received my yarn to make Anouk first thing yesterday morning. Well, here it is, mid afternoon today and I've finished the entire back piece! I decided to make the first piece the back piece, because...ya know... I think it came pretty good though! And the yarn is lovely and soft, if a little brighter than the photos on the webshop would have me believe.

I'll post a picture tomorrow because we're getting ready to go to a Superbowl party now!

First ever eBay yarn

2006-02-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

I won 5 skeins of this on eBay. Katrina, although completely synthetic, is the softest, bounciest, prettiest yarn I have ever seen. My mother made my sister a shrug from this for Christmas and it was just impossible to stop stroking it. So, this will either be a tank top or a beach cover up...I haven't decided! I do adore the colour though...nice and bright. Very apt for the Caribbean. :D

For once, a major update!

2006-02-02T19:31:00.000-05:00

I have finally spent time altering the appearance of the blog! I'm a little happier with it now, but I'm sure I could do better. Give it time... Copy-pasting the source code into Word so that it is searchable made things LOADS easier too.

So, things are moving along nicely! Anouk has been bumped from planned project to active project as I have decided to make this for the baby's christening which is in a few months. The yarn is ordered and on its way, so I can't wait to cast on! I'm going to use Bernat Cottontots 100% cotton after much trawling of the internet to find a suitable substitute for the suggested yarn. I just can't stand the thought that an item of baby clothing wouldn't be washable. The baby would rarely get to wear it, and that sort of defeats the point! The clapotis is going really well...just finished the 6th repeat of the straight section. I'm dying to finish it so I can wear it.

If and when I do order from Knitpicks, I'd like to order some of the "dye your own" yarn so I can experiment in Kool Aid dyeing. It looks too cool to pass up, but I may wait for the warmer weather so I can do it "sun tea" style. I think my mother will like me better if I do it that way. :)

Long ago, in a galaxy far far away......

2006-02-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

...there was the Star Wars scarf!

The whole thing, as seen from standing on my bed:

R2D2:

Mr. Stormtrooper:

A close-up of the words:

If I were to do this again, it would be so much better than it is...but I can't complain. Matt loved it, and that is all that matters!

New banner?

2006-01-30T19:47:00.000-05:00

I am going to try to make this my blog banner. We'll see if it actually works. :-S

ETA: After a bit of wrestling with the code, I managed it! Woo!

Too many interesting projects!

2006-01-30T18:31:00.000-05:00

I'm in the middle of my bluebell silk clapotis. I finished one fingerless mitten which may have to be ripped out because it is too big - the left mitten is coming along much better, albeit slowly. I am nearly done with one Opal sock - just the foot section and toe decreases remain.

I want to make:
A bag - probably Kristin's favourite carry-all
A swimsuit cover-up - probably something simliar to this but now I'm leaning more towards doing something similar in a tank-dress style
A baby dress - probably Knitty's Anouk
A tank top - no specific ideas yet. But the Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn is calling my name.

There are two concerns here - time and money. Ideally, I'd have the tank top and swimsuit cover up before my jaunt to Aruba in mid-July. The baby is only 4 months old, and the pattern goes up to 18 months, so there's no actual rush there. But it's a cute dress and I really am good friends with the mother and would love the chance to make a baby project. The bag....oh, the bag! It would need to be a pretty rugged wool to stand up to regular use. The yarn the pattern calls for would cost me $70 for the whole project...that's a bit steep for me right now. There is the temptation to have that for Aruba also, but it's a rather wintery style. There is a beach bag on Knitty that looks attractive too, but it's not necessary in theory. There are lots of nice beach bags to buy.

But I need to finish my current projects too!

Christmas is over!

2006-01-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

I have finished my Christmas knitting! I finished them a few days ago, and luckily I was able to go overtime because I haven't met with the recipients yet! I will post pictures later, also of the Opal sock I am knitting. I love the self-striping! I'm just a bit miffed that the photo of the sock they provided with the pattern for the Opal socks doesn't actually match the pattern! The heel is a simple heel-flap one that is turned at the bottom. The picture is not that...I don't know what type of heel it is, but it's the kind I wanted to try! I'll just have to wait for my sock book to arrive to try that kind.

Small update...

2005-12-18T17:12:00.000-05:00

Just a quick stop to update the status bars. I've really got moving on the Ravenclaw scarf. Star Wars is coming along too. I honestly can't wait to be done with them as they're both repetitive and boring now...plus I have such nice alpaca silk and more hand-dyed silk to work with! I might start on the next Clapotis after Christmas, taking this one much more slowly than the marathon knitting I did for the last one. I'm undecided as to what is best to do with my 100g of Alpaca Silk. I'm quite tempted by wrist wamers or gloves. I want it to touch my skin, and I'm eager to do something with cables. So, ya know...something small and simple, yet stunning. Will have to think more after Christmas.

Clapotis!

2005-12-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a close up of the stitches in my very first Clapotis.

A more pulled back view!

A more artsy view! ;)

Clapotis progress

2005-11-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's coming along nicely! I love the way the dropped stitches look. I love knitting with this silk...it's so shiny and comfortable. I can't wait to see what it's like when it's all finished.

Clapotis

2005-11-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

The clapotis is coming along astonishingly well! I am really enjoying it! I've just started the 6th repeat on the straight rows. I am going to have to do a little math to figure out just how many repeats I can do. I'm nearly at the end of the first hank so I've weighed it and will calculate how much yarn my remaining repeats will require. It's hard to say. I've already skipped one increase and I think that was for the best. I don't want a ton leftover so I hope to be able to do all the straight rows. I can't wait for the decreases though...and to drop all those stitches!

Star Wars strife...

2005-11-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I said it before...this project is going to kick my ass. I'm somewhat proud of myself for correcting what could have been a hideous mistake requiring the undoing of two rows. With a 277 stitch cast on, that's not good news. But, with the aide of a spare set of needles, I was able to drop down two rows the width of the final S in wars where I made the mistake of adding in an extra set of three white stitches for the first leg of the R after the A (don't ask me how I did this) and I knitted the correct colours back in and worked back up the 2 rows to rejoin the rest of the work. I impressed myself with a) actually fixing it, and b) not crying and throwing it across the room (which seemed like a viable option when I first discovered the error.) There's some gappiness that I will have to deal with, but I don't think it will be noticeable in the least. As my mother said, it is being made with love and the person I give it to won't even think to notice it! I have now completed 24 rows of the 40 row pattern. Of course, I'm making it double height so I can graft it into a tube so I'm not even half done. But once it's all black (rows 41-80) it'll go fast, I'd expect.

I'm finding a lot of errors in the patterns...these are copyrighted things. If I'm making my own corrections, at what point would this still be the copyrighted pattern? Hmm....

Star Wars update

2005-10-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

I have finished the lightsabre handles. I am now two rows into the 'may the force be with you' bit. So far it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. This is a Good Thing. It requires a lot of attention - this is not one that can occupy your idle thoughts while you watch something interesting on the tv. It's more like a keep-something-mindless-on tv-while-your-main-attention-is-on-the-knitting. Of course, the television doesn't have to be on at all...but in my current environment, that is not possible.

Ravenclaw is moving along nicely as well - halfway done with the 6th stripe. :)

Note to self...

2005-10-26T17:46:00.000-04:00

Plastic knitting needles are VILE. You don't like them. You like metal. The £1.75 you spent on crappy needles could have been put to better use...like, halfway to a decent set of needles. Next time, no amount of impatience to start a project is going to tempt you to buy something you don't like.

(The Star Wars scarf has begun, BTW....)

Basketweave Scarf

2005-10-23T11:45:00.001-04:00

Basketweave scarf

This has been put on hold until Christmas is over. It's in a microfibre yarn and is luxuriously soft. Looking back, I think I would have preferred it to be skinny rectangles rather than squares.

Silk Yarn

2005-10-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

Silk for a clapotis

I can't wait to start knitting with this. It's so soft and beautiful and I think it's going to make a great clapotis. I have ordered some more in a Red-Pink-Salmon multi for one for my mother.

Sock yarn

2005-10-23T11:44:00.001-04:00

Lorna's Laces

This is going to make a fantastic pair of socks. It's self-striping...I've ordered the appropriate sized needles, but I don't think I'll start until I finish the Christmas projects.

Hogwarts sock pair 1, sock 1

2005-10-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Hogwarts Sock Pair 1, # 1.

This is coming along slowly because I've been busy with the Ravenclaw scarf. But it will come...

Ravenclaw Scarf

2005-10-23T11:39:00.000-04:00

Ravenclaw Scarf

Here is the Ravenclaw Scarf as it is so far. You will see the handy little device that has saved my sanity with this project - a dangling stitch counter. I thought I was going to go crazy keeping a piece of paper around to mark each of the 22 rows contained in each stripe.

Project Overload

2005-10-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

The Ravenclaw scarf is officially On The Needles. It's the first time I'm using ciruclar needles and it's going well, the bastard first row nonwithstanding. I bought some black and white yarn for the Star Wars scarf but I can't start that yet! I spent most of yesterday knitting mini hats for the Innocent Drinks hats for charity. I have six. I will be posting pictures once I dig out my camera. They are adorable! There are too many things I want to do though...I need to find time for all of them. I would like to do Knitty's Clapotis after Christmas as a possible pressie for my mother. The yarn they suggest is absolutely gorgeous but at £16 per 100 grams, it may be a bit rich for me. I'd be willing to pay money for nice stuff, but for one project I can't see paying £48! Not at the moment, anyway. It isn't any cheaper from the US either...$30 per hank. I wouldn't mind spending half that, and with all the nice stuff I see in John Lewis' I'm sure I can find something nice.

It's been a while...

2005-10-04T14:51:00.000-04:00

My knitting has languished a bit in the past two weeks. It's been a very busy time, however I hope to get myself back on track. I went to the local Stitch 'n Bitch meeting on Sunday and made lots of progress on Gryffindor sock #1. I am actually going to be in the local paper this week or next as well for knitting in public! I have lots of peace and quiet tonight, so I'm going to stay off the internet and knit!

Small pleasures

2005-09-19T17:23:00.000-04:00

It's chilly tonight. I'm wearing my new socks. :)

Lots of ideas...

2005-09-18T15:56:00.000-04:00

Well, since I'm rather poor and have been bitten very hard by the knitting bug, I decided I'm going to knit a few christmas presents. You may note from the sidebar that there's a Harry Potter theme...let me explain. I was planning on the Ravenclaw scarf for my friend before I started the socks, but then my weird flatmate gave me Griffyndor coloured yarn from a scarf that she failed to make. My young cousins are huge Harry Potter fans, and as they are strange children who don't wear scarves or gloves but like wearing slippers and thick socks, that socks would be a good answer since I should be able to get both pairs out of the two balls of yarn. Neat. The Star Wars scarf is my first delve into intarsia knitting but if I can pull it off, my friend Matt will love me forever.

I will post pictures of the finished denim socks once I can unpack decently enough to locate my camera and card reader.

I think it's going to be fraternal twins...

2005-09-10T06:43:00.000-04:00

Sock 2 is coming 1000% better than Sock 1. I know that this is to be expected, as I am only just learning. But it still makes me a bit annoyed that they won't technically match. I'm just over 4 inches down the leg and it's just...better...than the other one. I think a lot of it may have to do with they way each of them were cast on. I used a more traditional method for Sock 2 and it's proving to be a tighter, more secure cuff. The other sock fans out a bit at the top. Well, I can be sure that the next pair of socks I make will be much better as a pair than these will be.

The Birth of a Sock

2005-09-07T16:42:00.000-04:00

The Birth of a Sock

Well it took from Saturday night till tonight. I finished it about an hour ago, but have been arguing with the computer as to the best way to get the pics online. I think that's a fair compromise, but you can't see any of the detail. I thought this Picasa->Hello->Blogger thing would be easier, but it doesn't like posting multiple pictures. Still, it's free webspace so it's hard to argue.

2005-09-06T15:22:00.000-04:00

My Picture

First post...

2005-09-05T16:11:00.000-04:00

Well, it is my wish to keep up a knitting blog. This is, however, subject to my life's ups and downs. We shall see.