A couple weeks ago, I was in the mood to knit a washcloth and Dave’s Garterlac Dishcloth fit the bill perfectly. I had some Peaches & Creme in a crazy rainbow-like colorway that I thought might work well with the entrelac squares.
Ravelympics 2008: Days 1-7
15.Aug.08 ~ 7:45 am
(Many thanks for everyone’s kind comments about the bunny pullover. I’ve been so focused on my Olympic knitting that email, blog-reading, and the like have fallen by the wayside, sorry!)
The Ravelry is doing a fun knit/crochet/spin/dye/whatever-along during the 2008 Olympics, with over 5500 members participating. I signed up with two projects and two teams: The Loon for Team Editors and Anise Socks for Team Stashdown. Continue reading »
kid stuff, knitting, socks, stranded or fair isle, sweaters | 6 stitchesNobody named Ryan here
16.May.08 ~ 8:35 am
(Note 1: Sorry about the spot of technical difficulties; after I first published this post, it unpublished itself somehow, and when I went back to reset the status, half the information was gone, so I had to reconstruct it. Note 2: What the heck? It happened AGAIN! I’m not gonna re-reconstruct this silly (and quite possibly cursed) post. Enjoy the pictures!)
Thanks all for your nice comments about my new sock pattern! : )
accessories, knitting, stranded or fair isle | 7 stitchesGauging Felt
29.Oct.07 ~ 6:24 am
Before I began work on the two big gifts due later this year, I realized I needed to knit and then full at least one swatch. Normally I don’t worry about gauge and size for felted items since the fulling process controls the end result. These two gifts I’m making are a bit more complicated than a simple bag, slipper, or hat. They need to fit reasonably well, and it would be awful if I went through all the knitting and oh-so-permanent felting to end up with too-small garments.
The designer of the pattern I’m using, Bev Galeskas (of Fiber Trends fame) gives two gauges, one pre- and one post-felting. My first swatch with the recommended needles (US 10 or 6 mm) was way too small for the pre-felting gauge. So, I swatched again, and then a third time and finally achieved gauge with US 11 (8 mm) needles. (Why doesn’t the US include 7 and 7.5 mm in the standard sizes?)
You can see how different the swatch sizes are; the gray was my original, too-small swatch, and the green one is much better. After centering the swatch, I marked off both pre- and post-felting stitch and row counts. It’s only necessary to mark the post-felting gauge, but I did both for my peace of mind. Also, cotton (or another non-felting) yarn must be used as markers.
Another reason I wanted to test swatch is that this project has an edging that is knit-on after felting. I read through the directions and had a vague sense of how it worked. I thought about trying applied i-cord or an edging similar to what is used in the pattern to see how it would felt. In the end, I decided not to do this because I liked the subtly different textures of the felted and un-felted fabrics in the pattern photographs. Continue reading »
felting, knitting | 17 stitchesHappy KMKS!
21.Mar.07 ~ 9:52 am
The long wait is over! My kit from the Knit Mitt Kit Swap arrived last week! I had all but forgotten about it and was awaiting delivery of some shoes I’d ordered. When I saw the box, I thought, “Shoes!” and ripped it open only to find tissue paper and softness underneath. I tried to remember what I had ordered, then as I lifted the tissue paper and saw the bag underneath, “Oh! KMKS!” My kit came from Lauren of Knitting in the Desert.
bags or purses, felting, knitting, yarn stash | 8 stitchesSecret Gift Revealed
05.Jan.07 ~ 3:11 pm
I finally got a picture of the completed project, so now I can post about it.
First, here’s a another peek that I meant to share before I got bogged down with the holiday knitting rush.
accessories, felting, knitting | 8 stitchesMoebius Basket
25.Aug.06 ~ 1:04 pm
As I mentioned in my previous post… the felting of the Moebius basket turned out marvelous. Voici!
bags or purses, felting, knitting | 9 stitchesQuick Knits
24.Aug.06 ~ 6:21 pm
I did manage to finish a couple of quick projects outside of Diamond Lace last week and they were such fun!
accessories, bags or purses, felting, knitting, secret pals or swaps | 5 stitchesClasses @ Stitches Midwest 2006
22.Aug.06 ~ 6:16 pm
Thanks to everyone who commented on my post for Challenge #6 with Diamond Lace and the Peanuts gang. It was a lot of fun!
I took one class each day at Stitches and was pleased overall with the teachers and the techniques I learned. All the teachers in the classes I took were very positive and encouraging, which was great.
events, knitting, techniques | 4 stitchesShow & Tell
09.Aug.06 ~ 5:36 pm
Other than the Color Blox socks I posted about last weekend, I haven’t been able to share my recent FOs.
