Rustic
Now that I had a plan worked out for the Omo yarn, I decided to start the other stole I wanted to knit, the Logan River Wrap. I was attracted to its rustic tweedy, and cozy appearance. By lucky coincidence, when this issue of Interweave Knits (Winter 2007) arrived, WEBS had the exact yarn on sale, in a gorgeous deep purple. It was fate! Continue reading »
knitting, shawls or stoles | 9 stitchesAftershock
Congratulations to trek who left comment number 2,000! She chose the Amazon.com gift certificate. Many, many thanks to all of you for making blogging fun!
Ahem. I’m afraid I haven’t completely caught up with all the yarn I’ve acquired lately. Here’s a few more things…
The new Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Raven Series was too much for me to resist, but I did limit myself by ordering only two things. It took a long time to pick out Ravenscroft, a gorgeous green-black. Continue reading »
knitting, yarn stash | 11 stitchesExplosion
If you paid attention to the title of my previous post, you might guess what this post will be about… Continue reading »
knitting, yarn stash | 16 stitchesVery Warm Hat
Here’s a Finished Object that I’m very late blogging. It’s also my very first EZ project. FuzzyBritches’ Warm Up the Winter gave me the perfect opportunity to knit a Very Warm Hat, which I’ve wanted to knit for quite a while now.
The yarn was left over from the Triple Patterned hat you’ve already seen. Continue reading »
accessories, knitting | 16 stitchesVictoriana
On Ravelry, I volunteered to test-knit a fingerless glove pattern for Hattie at Stitch Therapy. She was updating and converting the pattern from a blog post to PDF format and wanted new samples knit with currently/commonly available yarns and new photos.
I knit the smallest size, even though I wasn’t sure they would fit my hands. They do fit, I was surprised! They are snuggest around the base of the thumb gussets; you can see how stretched the stitches are on the right-hand glove in the picture below.
accessories, knitting | 15 stitchesSlytherin!
Whee! Early last week, my Hogwarts Sock Swap TWO package arrived from Amelia Crowhaven! She sent some great stuff!
Triple-patterned
As I finished up the baby items back in September, I was really craving stimulation; I wanted to knit something a bit complicated, something that required a lot of attention. I knew stranded colorwork was exactly what I needed.
This is only my second stranded project (and fourth where I’ve used my left hand). It was a perfect opportunity for me to practice knitting with both hands. I’m sure you will be able to pick out a few problem areas in the pictures, but overall, I’m happy with the hat. (I’m not happy with how my left hand tensions yarn, however.)
I had the most trouble with the bullseye pattern and tinked quite a few times. I thought I was vigilant enough to have avoided any mistakes, but nope! I found two mistakes in the color patterning after washing and blocking the hat, rats! While knitting, I often paused to admire the floats, they’re such fun!
I love the cuff, but honestly, it seems too big and obscures much of the bullseye underneath. On the other hand, the cuff adds an extra layer for warmth. I’d recommend skipping the colorwork on the cuff, knitting a few rows of plain stockinette (or perhaps just a small motif), and then incorporating another twined herringbone to balance with the one at the cuff top. The twined herringbone is a really nice detail and reminds me of the vikkel braid used in Estonian folk knitting.
This hat is huge–I knit the largest size (22″ circumference), but it blocked out a bit bigger than that. I’ll be sending it to FuzzyBritches for her Warm up the Winter campaign.
accessories, knitting | 19 stitchesBaby Cardi
Remember the purple hat and booties I made for Cousin R’s baby? Here’s the last piece of the set I made.
I didn’t want a set all in the same color, so I chose a marled yarn in a coordinating color for the cardigan. This piece is actually what attracted me to the pattern leaflet when I bought it earlier this summer.
Return of the Cuties
Some people left comments on my previous post about how they hadn’t been able to knit during their time on Jury Duty. Fortunately, I have been able to take along my knitting and work on it while waiting. Our introductory video even showed yarn and needles when listing suggestions of what to do while waiting!
It was a bit odd on Monday; apparently most knitters in this week’s jury pool used the Kellogg Blvd entrance and had their knitting confiscated by security. I used the 4th St entrance and had no trouble. The Jury Supervisor was awesome! He went to the security station and picked up the yarn and needles and returned them to their owners.
It’s also my first time inside the Ramsey County Courthouse. I never realized (it’s so different looking at a building’s exterior up close and personal than from afar) that it contains fabulous Art Deco features. Even the tiniest detail, like the women’s restroom door handle, is gorgeous.
More knitting—more baby items in my favorite color!
You aren’t seeing double. I knit the same hat and booties again, this time in a lovely purple. These are for another Rachel (with only one L this time), who happens to be my cousin. She was expecting a girl in October; naturally I wanted to knit a few things for them.
I picked up some Louet Gems, and had trouble with the gauge for the hat. As you can see, it turned out smaller than the Panda Wool version. Eeep! It blocked out well, but might not fit for a very long while. This time around, I got the garter stitch border on the lace edging correct. It looks much nicer!
baby stuff, knitting | 15 stitches
Yumminess
Saturday, I received my wonderful Knitters’ Coffee Swap package from Stephanie! I loved everything she sent!
secret pals or swaps, yarn stash | 7 stitches
