Scarf Interlude

I don't know if I've mentioned it here, but I was captivated by the Afternoon Tea shawlette featured in the summer Knitty. I've progressed to the beginning of the first "Branches Lace" section, and it's not going great. I put in a lifeline right before the row of increases, luckily, because I've had to rip back to it twice. The first time I had to get up in the middle of the second pattern row, a bunch of stitches popped off, and there was no way I was going to get them all back on in the proper order. The second was because I messed up the pattern horribly. Now, I'm faced with another yarn over problem. A single, solitary yo is one stitch too early on row 104. I'm just finished row 108. I haven't decided if I'm going to rip back yet or not.

Instead, I threw that shawl in the project bag and cast on for a much simpler lace pattern. It's just a little fan and feathers lace scarf using the leftovers from a honeycomb blanket, and I think it's beautiful!

Pattern found here.

 Here's the Afternoon Tea shawlette, currently too big for me to spread out very well on the needles. I'm also a little disappointed in the way it's pooling. I'm still debating with myself about what to do with it.

Pattern found here.

Short Row Dishcloth

I’ve been busy lately! I was out of town for a wedding, and then I fell and sprained my ankle and spent the next few days mostly in bed reading. I have quite a bit of knitting to catch up on here, but for today I have only a short row dishcloth. I think this is one of my favorite uses of the variegated yarn, because it helps illustrate the different directions so well. I think my next post should be able to talk about the rest of last month’s dishcloth experiments!

Pattern found here.

My only problem with it is the messy way I ended it. It's the upper right corner, and it sticks out a bit from the rest of the cloth. I actually haven't sewn in the ends yet, so I'm hoping to correct for it a little bit before I do so, though I probably won't undo the bind off and reknit it. My boyfriend especially likes it, so I'm considering putting it into rotation in the shower with his other two favorites. I'm definitely making a few more of these!

First Sock Saga Pt 2

(First part here. It's been longer than I meant to between socks!)

Later that night, I decided to cast on my first sock with some of the yarn. After taking a second look at my pattern, I realized I didn’t have size 5 DPNs. I tried a small swatch in size 6, and didn’t make gauge. Since the pattern gauge was measured without blocking, I ripped it out and knit a new one with size 4s. Also no go. Apparently I was pretty close to this knitter’s gauge. SO. I picked an entirely different pattern. It also called for size 5 DPNs, but my foot was larger than the pattern said AND it was designed to be loose anyway. I cast on with my SRK On Your Toes in the Carousel colorway and began knitting.

I’d picked out the yarn because I thought it was the ugliest in the bag, and I was certainly right! In my head, I kept thinking “knit ugly yellow stitch, knit ugly pink stitch, knit ugly pink stitch, knit ugly yellow stitch” at every turn. Then the stitches were just pink. THEN! Then they were blue and purple. And the colors were wonderful. The wool was springy, a big change from worsted weight cotton or even my worsted weight wool. It was soft. The heel and beginning of the instep was beautiful. Then I got back to the yellow and red. I was disappointed, but I couldn’t resist trying it on and taking a picture.

Pattern found here.

I worked through the yellow and red, and started on the pink. And the pink kept going. After such a short amount of it the last go around, I wasn’t expecting it to be so long but it ended up being a solid inch and a half of the sock foot. I kept pulling more yarn than was strictly necessary out of the center of the ball, hoping to get back to the blue and purple wonderousness. Of course, I was thwarted again. I pulled out the last of the pink..to reveal another yellow and pink section! It has the added bonus of being a less bright yellow than before, making it more like dirty dishwater after a particularly oily meal. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. By the time I’d finished the toe, it’d also switched back to the brighter yellow but it’s difficult to see up close, let alone when my foot is down where it normally is.

On the one hand, I’ve made my first sock! There are minor ladder problems that I think I’ll be better able to look out for now that I know how the wool feels when tensioned correctly and I am not a fan of the colorway. The yarn itself is fantastic. I just don’t know who dyed it and thought the yarn should ever be used! Perhaps there are people out there who love these colors. I am just not one of them.

In any case, I cast on my second sock the next day, finished the ribbing, and promptly set it aside to work on a few other things. I decided to go back to it a few days later, but I didn’t like the way it looked thanks to not paying enough attention and ending up with ladders at each end of the three needles. So I ripped it out and started over again. I got to the top of the heel flap and set it aside to make a few things. I finally picked it up again and finished the heel flap and turn, and then finishing the gusset, foot, and toe the next day. So now it’s complete! And it fits pretty well.

I actually like think it turned out much better this time as far as the color repeats are concerned. The heel looks better and I really like that the toe ended up being the blue and purple. On the other hand, they’re fraternal as I suspected. Not by a lot, but by enough to be noticeable. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the rest of the yarn, but I’m pretty sure I have enough to make another set of ankle socks if I want or combine it with another 50 grams of yarn and see if the color works out with an alternating pattern.

There are a few minor problems with them. I need to work on making the gusset decreases tighter, for example, and there are a few other places with minor ladders. On the first one there's a weird large stitch that might be a dropped and wrongly picked up stitch, but I can't quite remember. Even with their mistakes, I am so proud!

Life List Updated

Just a little housekeeping, I’ve updated the Knitter’s Life List to reflect the things I’ve already made and blogged about. Hopefully, I can keep it updated, and I imagine sometimes I will have a lot of them done quickly, and sometimes it will be a while between accomplishments. So far, I have done 10 out of 120 (if I can count right…)! That’s 8% done. Considering I’ve been knitting for less than 5 months, I’d say that’s a pretty darn good amount. I haven’t posted all of them yet, but I’m getting there!

Slippers!

Just a short update today, I made a pair of slippers for the boy. They came out pretty well, and he's worn them around the house a couple of times despite the rising temperatures. He especially likes the extra padding they provide while doing housework that requires lots of standing, like doing dishes. Normally, his feet ache when he finishes, but this seems to have solved the problem.

Pattern found here.

I've finished several other things, but I can't post pictures as they're gifts and I'm paranoid! This month I'm going to a wedding, with another one next month. Plus, Mother's Day is this Sunday, and I have a few just cuz things as well as an attempt at a bib for a 2 year old since her mother isn't having much luck with commercially available things.

Knitting Wish List

I got The Knitter’s Life List for my birthday, and have compiled a list! As a new knitter, I have a lot of things I haven’t done so my list is quite long. I’m going to post it here as a reference, and I’ll refer back to it as I complete projects! On to the list!

ETA: If the entry is bold, that means I've completed it but have not yet posted about it. If there is a link, that means I've completed it and linked it to the blog post.

0. Find out what the yarn in the basket on the back cover is. I want the entire basket!! (Not sure this can actually be done...)

Yarn

1. Find color inspiration in quilts, carpets, saris, rusty bridges, old trucks, industrial buildings, paintings, landscapes and gardens, textiles, pottery, butterflies, insects, birds, etc.

2. Buy yarns (and fleece) direct from the source.

3. Collect your experiments with various yarns in a notebook.

4. Hand paint or hand-dye some silk yarn.

5. Makesomething small with cotton, such as a washcloth or spa item.

6. Knit socks from the toe up, with nicely rounded heels.

7. Recycle an old or secondhand sweater by unraveling it, and knit something new with the yarn.

8. Include care instructions with hand-knit gifts: you’ll find them on the yarn band.

9. Knit with two different colored yarns held together.

10. Learn to spin.

11. Knit swatches from yarn with different numbers of plies and observe the differences.

12. Learn the intarsia technique.

13. Choose one of your favorite colors and find out what it symbolizes to people in different cultures.

14. Learn to wind a center-pull ball of yarn by hand.

15. Visit a fiber farm.

16. Use these yarns: Wool from at least ten different breeds of sheep, angora, cashmere, mohair, qiviut, bison, yak, alpaca, camel, guanaco, llama, vicuna, bombyx silk, tussah silk, cotton, hemp, linen, bamboo, corn-fiber yarn, metal-wrapped yarn, milk-fiber yarn, paper yarn, ramie, seacell, soy silk, sugarcane-fiber yarn, tencel

17. Designs: Ann Budd, Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, Debbie Bliss, Jil Eaton, Vivian Hoxbro, Marianne Isager, Kristin Nicholas, Brandon Mably, Kaffe Fassett

Know-How

18. Start a notebook with your swatches, and jot down what you knit with each one.

19. Take part in a Knit Along.

20. Knit a sweater from the top down.

21. Knit a baby hat.

22. Create a hand-knit toy.

23. Knit a baby blanket.

24. Make some baby booties.

25. Felt a knitted Mobius basket.

26. Make a Christmas stocking for everyone in your family.

27. Knit a hat from the top down.

28. Make a hand-knit cowl.

29. Knit socks — and more socks!

30. Read up on nalbinding.

31. Sign up for a knitting class.

32. Locate the yarn shops within a 50 mile radius of your home, and explore each one.

33. Sign up for a class in one of the “sister” crafts to knitting.

Sweaters

34. Read at least one of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s books.

35. Knit a: sweater with a yoke, pullover, cardigan, set-in sleeves, raglan sleeves, saddle shoulders, scoop or jewel neck, turtleneck, crew neck, V-neck, long sleeves, vest, hoodie, kimono-style sweater, shawl collar, tank top, a gansey, twisted-stitch sweater, a classic Fair Isle design, Aran sweater, stranded Scandinavian pattern in red and white, Bohus, Baby Surprise Jacket.

Socks

36. Meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

37. Designs: Cat Bordhi, Melissa Morgan-Oakes, Ann Budd, Charlene Schurch.

38. Knit: argyle, cable motif, lace, an ethnic pattern.

39. Memorize kitchener stitch.

40. Work on ways to avoid laddering.

41. Use the Magic Loop to make socks.

42. Use a picot bind off for toe-up socks.

43. Explore different techniques for turning a heel.

Scarves & Shawls

44. Choose a reversible stitch pattern and knit a scarf.

45. Learn to “read” your knitting.

46. Use a “lifeline” when knitting lace.

Hats

47. Knit: watch cap, ski hat with earflaps, ponytail hat, balaclava, klein bottle cap, ski hat with gathered top.

Gloves & Mittens

48. Knit a pair of thrummed mittens.

49. Knit fingerless gloves.

50. Create some lovers’ mittens.

Bags

51. Teach someone else to knit when you travel.

52. Look for stitch patterns that don’t stretch and use them for bags or bag straps.

Kids

53. Knit a baby blanket.

54. Knit a pair of wool soakers.

55. Knit matching sweaters for a child and his/her doll.

Home Dec

56. Learn about “mathematical knitting”.

57. Knit: an afghan or throw, placemats, napkins, pot holders, dishcloths, bath mat, electronic gadget covers, Christmas tree ornaments.

58. Systematize yarn stash.

59. Collect needles in one place and inventory them.

60. Learn to knit backwards.

61. Find out about “illusion knitting”

Fiber Lover

62. When you’re ready to buy your own spinning wheel, try out a number of different kinds first.

63. Learn to spin.

64. Buy, borrow, or make a hand spindle.

65. Take a spinning class.

66. Learn to weave.

Knitting History

67. Anne Macdonald’s No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting

68. Richard Rutt’s A History of Hand Knitting

69. Susan Strawn’s Knitting America

70. http://knittinghistory.typepad.com/historic_knitting_pattern

Upcoming Projects

I'm afraid I had to take a little bit of time off knitting this week, and only have one dishcloth I can show you. I made it for myself, and I think it came out quite nicely! The picture looks rather blue, but I definitely used the Orchid color from Peaches and Creme, which is a light purple.

Pattern found here.

Today I went around town to various shops and picked up some new yarns. On the left is Serenity sock weight yarn from Hobby Lobby I will be using to make a lovely Afternoon tea shawl. I also picked up a bit of I Love This Cotton (not pictured) because it was on sale and I wanted to see how it does when made into a dishcloth. In the middle is some Red Heart Crochet Cotton size 10 from Wal Mart that I am going to attempt to weave tea towels with. Finally, on the right is some Ella Rae Marl that I am going to make some sort of hat with, I think. This last one I got from Tuesday Morning, which I had been to once years before and did not realize even sold yarn. I found this out from Ravelry, and decided to check it out. Of course, the knitting section (er...endcap on an aisle) consisted mostly of GIANT size straight needles in sets of three or four. I wasn't particularly tempted by any of those, but they had some interesting novelty yarns, as well as the ball I purchased. It was half off! I might go there again in a month or two to see if they have any new items, and if I see one around when I'm in KC or Wichita I'll definitely be stopping to check them out too.

Finally, I also picked up some of the crochet cotton in black and I'm making myself what will basically be an ACE bandage. I started this project because I wanted a very simple project to knit while watching a long T.V. show with subtitles, and also realized that we had no long bandages after banging my ankle on the dishwasher hard enough to need ice. I had no way to hold the ice on or to apply pressure without ice! It's a little too late to help my ankle feel better now, but I might be able to prevent this problem in the future!

Next time I should have a lovely new pattern for you, but I'm not quite done editing it. Pattern has been test knit, pictures have been taken, and the chart is ready to go. I just have to translate that to a written pattern, and proofread and it'll be ready for other's eyes!